Aggression
by Readingfreak99
Summary: A hunt for a Vampire nest turns sideways when Dean meets a strange woman on their first night in town. She's beautiful, smart and a serious pain in the ass. Things get interesting when she manages to outwit the Winchester brothers and Dean's strange attraction easily turns to annoyance. The story takes place during different intervals in the show, spanning from Season 5 onward.
1. Chapter 1

**An interesting beginning**

"So what, we've got a nest of blood suckers and a demon trapping medallion with some mumbo jumbo, crazy ass superpower?" Dean asked with incredulity, the notes from his research scattered on the small wooden table in front of him.

Sam shrugged from where he sat on the bed, his laptop propped up on his lap, "Pretty much, Cas says the medallion can actually be used to control a demon." He explained.

Dean blinked, "Huh…" He took a sip of his beer as he worked to scrap all his thoughts together, "Why the hell have we never heard of this? Life would've been easier if we knew about this." He said in slight frustration as he thought about the countless amount of demons they have faced in the last five years.

Sam waved his hand in a manner to placate his brother, "I don't know, Dean. Cas didn't know much either, only the technicalities."

Dean huffed in disbelief, "So we got two jobs to do. Get the medallion and gank a few sons of bitches?"

Sam slowly pushed away from the bed as he set his laptop aside, "Pretty much."

Dean pursed his lips and nodded before he stood up, "Easy hunt, well then I'm hitting the bar. Don't wait up." He rumbled as he shrugged on his jacket and grabbed the Impala's keys.

"Dean, I think this case is a whole lot more than what we can see on the surface." Dean paused in the doorway and slightly turned to his little brother, "Is there anything we can do now besides sit here and try reading up on something even an 'Angel of the Lord' knows little about?" Sam didn't say anything as he shifted slightly from foot to foot.

Dean couldn't help but be reminded of a much younger version of his brother, asking him about girls and hunting. Dean smiled, "C'mon, we need a night out, we've been on the road for three days." Dean gestured for his brother to follow him.

When they finally found a bar that looked like it served good food and descent scotch, Dean pulled into the parking lot and parked his baby easily before the two hunters made their way inside.

Dean made a beeline for the bar and Sam slowly trailed behind him, his gaze habitually exploring the interior of the bar. It was cleaner than most, the smell of beer and smoke wasn't as stale as it would be in the usual joints they had occupied in the past. The booths that lined the walls were filled with people, the seats a deep red leather. Sam was instantly fascinated with the pictures and the trinkets, probably collected over the years by the bar's owner, that adorned the walls. A stage was to the left where band instruments stood in their respective spaces, the bar was to the right, and further in the back were several pool tables.

Sam scanned the crowd to find Dean already sauntering over to the pool tables. Sam narrowed his eyes slightly, he had grown out of the habit of hustling people out of their money, but every now and again Dean would have the tendency to fall back on old habits.

Sam sniffed and rolled his shoulders when he finally reached the bar. The barmaid was cute with big dark eyes and short blonde hair. She grinned at him when he turned to give her some attention. A bottle of beer was placed in front of him and Sam glanced over his shoulder to make sure his brother was fine before he turned back to the conversation with the barmaid.

Dean slowly drifted between the tables, bottle of beer in hand as he searched for a pair of people to actually play of who'll be finishing soon. Luck was on his side as he spotted a short brunette lining up for a shot. There were four balls still left on the table. Dean glanced around and couldn't see her opponent. He came to a standstill and watched her easily sink the number two ball. It was an easy pocket shot.

Dean narrowed his eyes as she lined up for a much more difficult shot. She missed. No surprise there.

The woman straightened slowly, her curtain of dark hair falling over her shoulder. Dean instantly was on alert when two dark blue eyes connected with his. She raised a perfectly trimmed eyebrow. Dean cleared his throat as he had been caught staring.

"You know if you adjust the angle of your arm, that ball definitely would have sunk." He tried for some conversation.

He had a feeling this was a woman not to be fucked with. She raised her other eyebrow in slight surprise before she glanced down at the table. Her sharp eyes flicked over where the ball had been and where it lay now.

Dean took the time to study her face better. She was pretty with high cheekbones and perfect kissable lips. Her eyes, though, are what really caught his attention.

"Well look at that, you're right." Her voice was low with a high-end British accent. Dean resisted the urge to furrow his brow, but he couldn't hide the surprise in his voice, "I take it you're not from around here?"

The woman smirked as she bent over the table again, lining up a better shot for the fourteen ball.

"What gave it away, my shining personality or my exotic appearance?"

Dean raised an eyebrow. He couldn't help but nip back at her, though, "No. American women wouldn't have missed that shot."

The brunette straitened again after the fourteen disappeared inside the corner pocket. Her eyes unabashedly raked over his form, her gaze scanning him from top to bottom and then up again. Dean resisted the unusual urge to squirm under her intense gaze. He usually enjoyed it when women checked him out, but for some reason he felt like this strange species of the female gender was apprising him more than appreciating.

The corner of her mouth quirked up, "Well, you going to stand there and criticize one lousy shot or are you going to toughen up and take on little ol' me?"

Dean easily recognised the challenge and took a sip of his beer to hide his bemusement. He licked his lips as his own gaze raked over her form. She was curvy in a strong kind of way, nice legs and an ass any guy would kill for. Dean had a feeling that this would be an interesting night.

He smirked, "Well, let's dance." He shrugged out of his jacket as the woman set up the table.

"My name's Dean, by the way." Dean murmured as he walked behind her, his voice purposefully low. She smirked, an infuriating know-it-all smirk, and glanced at him over her shoulder, "Casey."

Dean frowned slightly, the name didn't suit her. She seemed too smart, too cunning to have a name you usually stereotyped with a ditzy blonde. He narrowed his eyes lightly in suspicion as he watched her.

"I can feel you staring." She said, amusement colouring her tone. Dean blinked and cleared his throat,

"I'll break."

Casey chuckled softly and looked up as Dean lined up his shot,

"You go ahead and do that."

Dean quickly glanced up at her, her face expectant as she watched him closely. Dean couldn't help the playful grin that spread across his face as he pulled back and shot the white billiard ball across the green felt.

They played three rounds, Casey winning two and Dean winning the last round. He was stunned to find her aim and skill as good as it was. She could easily line up an impossible shot, the ball would bounce off the edges of the table and end up in the pocket.

Their communication was odd to say the least. Dean would make a great shot, the instant inflation of his ego would quickly be shot to hell when she quipped something insulting or took a dig at his ability to pull his face askew. He tried flirting, just to see how she'll react. Her response was exactly something he expected,

"Keep trying, Pretty Boy, maybe you'll catch my attention in the next hundred years or so." She snorted.

Dean was definitely intrigued, his attention caught with two tiny black-nailed fists. His amusement only grew as the night continued. Casey seemed to slowly warm up to him, her smiles became more frequent, her defensive retorts developed into softer teasing remarks. Dean vaguely wondered what lay behind her hard exterior. There was a soft voice in the back of his mind whispering to him that he shouldn't be this open, an annoying voice that vaguely sounded like Sam.

They were currently busy with their fourth game. Casey was leaning into the table, a bottle of beer held to her lips as her eyes intently followed Dean as he moved around the table, shooting shots he hadn't been able to in the prior games.

 _Seemed like this Dean fellow was a hell of a lot more than a pretty face and a snarky comment,_ she thought.

"Maybe we should make this game a little more interesting." Dean commented as he rounded her, his eyes straying to her casual form. Casey raised her eyebrow, "You want to put money on this?" She asked in quiet disbelief.

Dean grinned wickedly at her, "More like your company." Casey's eyes widened slightly and Dean was surprised by the show of emotion. She hadn't been letting on at all what she had been thinking throughout the night.

Casey cleared her throat, her eyes flicking over to the bar. Dean's eyebrow furrowed at her unceremonious behaviour.

"Casey?" He asked when the silence was viciously tramping down on his confidence at the request.

Casey turned to him and her eyes uncharacteristically softened. Dean blinked and the look was gone.

"I doubt you'll be able to handle what I've got to offer." She finally said, her hip jutted out, her hand resting there. Dean smirked as he slowly made his way to her, his voice dropped as he came to a standstill a few inches from her, "Maybe you should be more worried about what _you_ can't handle."

He watched as her jaw tightened and her eyes hardened with the challenge. She opened her mouth, probably to squish his ego into the ground, but a hand suddenly wrapped around his own arm and ripped him away from her.

Anger instantly engulfed him as he turned to see who was throwing him around like a ragdoll.

He was about Dean's height, if not an inch taller, broad shoulders, big muscles. The guy had dark brown hair and startling blue eyes… familiar cheekbones.

"Get your hands off her." He snarled in a British accent. He swayed slightly. Dean held up his hands in slight surrender, "Calm down, dude. I didn't even touch her."

Dean wasn't in the mood for a fight. He most definitely wasn't in the mood to wash the blood of a drunken guy off his hands tonight, either.

The guy took a threatening step forward, a low growl ripping from his lips. Casey stepped around to put a placating hand on his chest, "Calm down, Jamie. He didn't touch me." She soothed as she glanced in Dean's direction.

Sam had slowly made his way over to them and Dean could see his brother waiting to spring into action at any sign of trouble.

Dean took an involuntary step forward at the sight of an obvious violent man so close to Casey, her small stature highlighted by the man's much larger one.

Casey held up her hand to stop him, "I'm sorry, Dean. I'll have to cut our match short. Jamie has the tendency to drink a little too much."

Dean's hand balled into a fist, "You know him?" He asked as he warily watched the tall man. Casey nodded, "He's my brother."

Dean understood the look in her eyes. He understood that urge to keep a brother out of trouble, to keep a brother save. He nodded his head and watched as she led him out the bar by lightly tugging on his hand.

Dean watched her go in slight dismay. He had really high hopes to spend the night with her, something he hasn't done in quite some time. Dean has been more careful in choosing his one night stands. He made sure to not just jump into bed with every woman.

Sam came to stand next to him, his hands in his pockets, "Want to get a beer?" He asked deliberately, knowing his brother wouldn't want to talk about it.

Dean tore his eyes away from where Casey and her brother had disappeared through the door, "Sure," He nodded as he passed Sam and headed for the bar.

* * *

They had gone after the nest the following night. There were ten of them, all of them strong and all of them mated – never a good sign. The fight had been bloody and brutal. Dean fractured a rib and Sam's head almost got crushed, but they had gotten the information they needed out of the littlest bloodsucker.

They went to the old abandoned house on the edge of town and had searched the large place top to bottom with no luck. They did, however, spot a shadow disappearing into a car across the road, though. Lucky for them, Dean would've recognised that elegant movement anywhere.

They found her leaving the same bar where she and Dean had met. Her eyes barely had time to light at the sight of him, before Sam grabbed her from behind.

* * *

 **Disclaimer: Supernatural does not belong to me as I worship the ground the writers of that fabulous show walk on. I do however own this story and my own character.**

 **A/N: Welcome to my third fanfic attempt ! I really hope you enjoyed the first section of what I believe to be a thrilling story. I would really appreciate a review to let me know if some of you are interested in knowing what happens next.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A new revelation**

She was waking up, her head throbbed and her neck was stiff. There was a dull ache in her shoulders, but as she tried to adjust them, she found her hands restrained behind her back. A stab of pain caused her teeth to grit in order to contain the hiss.

"Finally, she's awake." A gruff voice said from her right. She heard springs squeak when the man stood from a bed.

She rolled her head and her eyes fluttered open. She rolled her eyes next and winced from the sharp pang resonating in her skull. It took her a few seconds to pull herself together before the teasing smirk pulled on her lips as her eyes landed on the two giants in front of her, "The Winchesters... finally we meet." She drawled in her elegant British accent.

Dean's eyes narrowed as he took a slight step forward, "How did you…?"

She cut him off whilst she rolled her head to try and shake away the dizziness still clinging to her mind, "I was really hoping for my suspicions to be a coincidence, but in your line of work," She snorted, "That isn't how it works now, is it?"

The taller one, she vaguely recalled his name from old childhood memories, Sam, crossed his arms and watched her with calculating eyes, "Obviously you know what we do, 'you a hunter?"

She snorted again and rolled her head to conspicuously test her bindings.

"And get covered in everything _but_ water? I'll politely decline."

Dean frowned then. She watched his inquisitive gaze melt into a harsh glare that would've sent a shiver down any normal person's back.

She wasn't normal, though.

"You played me." He growled.

Her answering laugh was empty and she shook her head comically. That night wasn't supposed to go as far as it did. He wasn't supposed to crack her wall.

"I didn't do anything." She met his heated gaze with a superior one of her own, a wicked smirk quirked the corner of her mouth, "And if I remember correctly, _you_ wanted to play for _my_ company."

Dean bristled and took a heated step forward, his lips morphing to throw back harsh words in retaliation. Sam quickly cut him off by placing a hand on his chest. They needed answers and leaving Dean to argue with her wouldn't help their hunt, "Not now, Dean." He muttered quietly before he turned back to her, "If you're not a hunter, what's all this, then?"

Her eyes widened when he moved to reveal all her gear lying in a heap on the other bed.

Her back was suddenly rigid and she raised her eyes to the younger Winchester. Sapphire orbs were suddenly ablaze. "Protection, sweetheart." She finally answered.

"Yeah, that's what we don't get, if you're not a hunter, then what exactly do you need protection from?" Dean asked with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

Her eyes shifted to him. Her head tilted from side to side as she tried cracking the kinks resting in her neck, she was focusing on the dull ache in her skull, trying to force it away so she could _think_. She rolled her shoulders slowly, "Well, you see boys, in _my_ line of work, I still end up working against whatever goes bump in the night, hence the need for protection." She shrugged as if it was suddenly the most obvious thing in the world.

Sam's eyes narrowed as his stance became more guarded, "What exactly is your line of work?" He asked slowly. There was a voice in the back of his mind whispering to him, _She's dangerous. She relaxed too quickly._

Her eyes narrowed as she fell into silence. Talking could get her into trouble with the infamous hunters, but she was curious as to know what they _really_ wanted from her.

"Making money." She finally said, her eyes gleamed with mirth as Sam and Dean shared a look.

Dean pulled his face in disgust as he walked closer to her, "Why do you remind me of this bitch I once knew?" He asked sarcastically as he lowered his head to her level.

"Maybe it's because your taste in women is a little too overwhelming. Don't worry Pretty Boy, there's nothing wrong with a man who can't handle a strong woman." Dean licked his lips in agitation before straitening with an indignant huff.

Sam rolled his eyes again, "What did you do with the medallion?"

She grinned, "Finally, we reach the main attraction of this petty thing you would label a conversation."

"Just answer the question." Sam demanded.

She narrowed her eyes in hostility, "It's my business, Winchester. A medallion like that can sure as hell make a lot of money."

"You sold it?" Dean asked is disbelief. She feigned shock, "O look, you're a quick little one, aren't you?" She mocked.

Dean growled and his hands balled into fists. He looked like he would like nothing better than to actually beat the crap out of her. But she had a niggling feeling that he wouldn't be able to.

"To who?" Sam asked.

She shrugged, "A very rich Russian ambassador. He has a thing for demon legends."

The two brothers stared at her in bewilderment, not being able to grasp the fact that they had just lost a very valuable medallion that could've fixed all of their Crowley problems.

"Who the hell are you?" Dean finally breathed through clenched teeth.

She smirked her little infuriating smirk, "You know who I am, Dean." She purred.

Dean shook his head as a knowing look formed in his eye, "Your name isn't Casey. It doesn't suit your ' _shining personality'_."

She cocked an eyebrow, "How do you know I'm not pretending?"

Dean crossed his arms, "Because I'm a people person." He stated smugly. She couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips. Her headache seemed to spike at the sudden movement of her entire body, "Dean Winchester, a people person?" She laughed again, "Please, Dean, the closest you'll ever be to a people person is a man whore."

Dean raised an eyebrow with indifference. Sam glanced at him in slight surprise, he had expected his brother to blow up about the well placed insult. Dean met his brother's stunned gaze, "What?" He shrugged, "I've been called worse." He muttered, rolling his shoulders slightly in embarrassment.

His reaction surprised her. During her four short hours in his company, she had learnt quite a lot about him. The first thing was that he had a very short fuse. He was supposed to react, she needed him distracted.

Her eyes jumped to the digital clock sitting on the night stand. This conversation has become tedious and she was bored now, plus, she has somewhere to be.

"Okay, this is how it's going to work." She cut into their soft conversation, "You boys are going to let me go, you're not going to follow me and you're not going to look for me either." She explained.

Dean stared at her incredulously, "Why exactly would we do that?"

She mentally rolled her eyes, she didn't have time for this!

She was deadly serious as she looked him in the eye, "To spare yourselves the humiliation that will follow if you don't."

Dean barked a laugh before sauntering over to her, he leaned down right into her face, "You're tied to a chair, _Casey_." He stated arrogantly, smirk lighting up his features.

Her nostrils flared, but she refrained from smashing her forehead into his nose, "You boys ever hear of the Reagans before?" She asked suddenly, her head tilting to look at Sam.

She watched as Sam and Dean looked at each other, the name ringing familiar bells. Dean straightened and walked over to his brother, they turned their backs on her so they could talk in some semblance of privacy.

"Didn't Dad once hunt with a couple named Reagan?" Dean asked softly. Sam's brow knitted as he tried to recall the story, "Yeah, back when he was just starting out. His journal said he ran into a married woman and her husband. They saved his ass from being eaten by a Wendigo."

Dean shrugged, "Mentioned them a few times over the years too, said they were damn good hunters, a whole generational and family thing."

Sam nodded slowly, "I haven't heard that name since I was... sixteen. Not even Bobby's mentioned them again."

Dean pursed his lips in thought. It was true, the Reagans were a family of hunters, a sort of legend in the hunting community. They're story mainly surrounded a family feud dating back a hundred years or so between them and a family of Shapeshifters. "It's quite a fascinating story actually," Sam mused.  
Dean rolled his eyes, "You're such a dork…" He muttered in fond amusement.

"Well I'm going to have to interrupt your little history lesson." Dean and Sam turned around, only to freeze when they found her standing, the rope loosely hanging between nimble fingers, "As much as I've loved this little… _chat_ , it has become a bit anti-climactic."

In an instant two guns were drawn and trained on her. She narrowed her eyes and in one swift movement, her own gun was drawn and aimed at Sam's head.

"Great, now you've resorted to violence," She rolled her eyes in exasperation, " _Men_."

Dean flashed a quick smile, "Why don't you just drop your gun and nobody will get hurt."

She snorted, "Haven't you been listening? I've got somewhere to be and you're holding me up, so if I were you, I'd play smart and do what the tiny woman tells you to do before someone eats a bullet." She snapped.

Dean raised his eyebrows, before he slightly cocked his head to the side as he studied her curiously, "You are really tiny." He finally said. She rolled her eyes and Sam shook his head, "Dean..." He said in exasperation.

Dean cleared his throat and slightly rolled his shoulders, "Yeah, 'sides it's two against one and we're both at least an entire foot taller than you."

She smirked, "Small bomb, big bang." She shifted and with quick and efficient movement she shot out all the motel room lights. Sam and Dean fired random shots in the direction they had last seen her. The shots were wasted bullets when their backs hit the floor with a hard _thunk_. She had already knocked out Sam and as she wrapped her legs around Dean's head, she tapped him on the forehead, "By the way. The name's Reagan, Riley Reagan."

Her accent had lifted and Dean vaguely registered the name before the blackness swallowed him. He went limp.

Riley grinned and rolled away from him, "Finally." She muttered as she headed back over to the bed to grab her stuff. The warehouse was about five miles up the road. She would find her brother there.

Riley left the motel room and made sure to lock the two brothers inside, just because Dean kinda pissed her off. She glanced around the parking lot and found one sexy 1967 Chevy Impala. Her fingers caressed the hood as her eyes jumped over the inside in appreciation.

"Well you've been taken good care off…" She muttered.

She narrowed her eyes and swept them across the parking lot. The only other car was a mini-van. Riley doubted the great Winchesters drove around in a mini-van. She sighed, "Looks like I won't have the pleasure of driving you, baby." She muttered before she quickly popped the hood.

Riley scrunched up her nose as she thought what to do with the beautiful car. She didn't have the heart to damage her. Riley bit her lip and reached in to dig around and finally pulling out the car's spark plug. She smirked, Dean was going to _love_ this. She silently debated about what to do with the important piece. She had to hide it since the Winchesters would be waking up soon and she doubted that they'd just let her go. So instead she played a little hide and seek when she spotted one of the open windows. _It was always fun to screw with people,_ she thought as she stuffed the car piece underneath the driver's seat and slammed the door.

"Have fun looking for that, Pretty Boy." Riley murmured before she left the parking lot.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey everybody welcome to the second installment of my newest project. I really do hope you enjoyed it! And I'd really appreciate a review or two.. I'd like to know what ya'll think about my character, about the story itself. Let me know! Thanks again!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Warning: Swearing**

* * *

 **Ticking off a Winchester**

Riley's machete easily sliced through the vampire's flesh and bone. With a blood splattered face, she grinned at Dean lying shell-shocked on the floor, "Well look at that, Winchester. I just saved your life."

Dean scowled as he pulled himself to his feet. He wiped the blood from his own face and glared at her, "I was handling it." He grumbled.

Riley snorted as she rested her weapon on her shoulder, she cocked her hip to the side and raised an eyebrow, "Oh yeah? Tell me, Dean, how you would've heroically saved your own ass against a very angry alpha male vampire with nothing but your bare hands?"

She mocked in a high pitched voice before she fluttered her lashes innocently. Dean's scowl deepened before he shoved past her. She laughed, the sound booming around the empty warehouse. Dean shivered and cringed when he felt the slow flow of warmth in his chest. He shook off the relaxed feeling and stomped off to find his little brother.

Riley swallowed the bubbling laughter to jog after Dean. His short fuse amused her greatly and she shook her head when she found herself thinking of more ways to push his buttons... but she was getting ahead of herself, she needed to find Daniel and get the hell out of town. Sticking around with a pissed off Winchester was probably not a good idea.

Riley and Dean found both of their brothers in deep conversation in the main part of the warehouse. Riley recognised the guilty spark in her twin's eye; he was overthinking their situation with the Winchesters, those thoughts of his probably on the sold medallion.

She pursed her lips as he and Sam suddenly laughed quietly.

Daniel looked up to shoot her a small smirk; he liked Sam.

Riley felt the unconscious smile tug at her lips, Daniel didn't often find someone he could relate to. Her brother was a gentle giant with the mismatched combination of dark demons and a kind, generous heart. Riley had so often wished for the simple life, just so her brother could enjoy the quiet and avoid the bloodshed that inevitably came with being a Hunter. It was one of the reasons why they dealt with the magic trinkets and cursed objects, it was much easier to just steal something valuable, leave a tip to a competent hunter and disappear.

It was easier to be thieves.

"Daniel, we gotta dash, man." Riley briskly walked over to her brother's side. Dean had already taken his spot next to Sam.

Daniel looked away from Sam, an understanding passed between siblings and he nodded: they needed to leave town before _he_ caught up.

Daniel and Sam shared a quick goodbye before the Reagans turned to leave.

Dean was frowning when his hand shot out to encircle her upper arm to halt their leave, "Hold on, that isn't happening. You two cost us one damn import medallion and you made me search for a damn spark plug for _half an hour_." He growled.

Riley and Daniel glanced at each other, talking without the use of words.

 _Only way out of here._ Her eyes said.

Daniel let out a quiet sigh. _So be it._

Riley grabbed the hand that was gripping her arm and twisted Dean's offending limb. He collapsed to his knee from the sheer pressure on his joints. Daniel pulled his gun on Sam when the younger Winchester twitched to aid his big brother.

"Sorry, man. We got places to be, people to see." Daniel flashed a small apologetic smile.

Dean grunted as he tried to twist out of her hold, but Riley just pushed harder, the pain leaving the famous hunter incapacitated, "Sorry, Pretty Boy, if you got over a million dollars, I would gladly get the medallion back, but I doubt your hunter pay checks would be able to provide me with that kind of cash."

Dean snarled, "You bitch." Riley smirked and twisted harder to add insult to injury. If she twisted his arm any further, she was going to break it.

"It's _the_ bitch." With a quick and easy tug she pulled him into her and slammed down on the little nerve in his neck, his entire body went limp before he slid to the floor, unconscious.

Sam blinked before anger ignited his gaze, "What did you do?" He snarled. Riley smiled apologetically, "Just knocked him out, he'll wake up in about fifteen minutes."

She started backing up to the door, her brother following suit, his gun still raised, "Thanks for the help, Sam!" Daniel exclaimed sheepishly before he turned and shot off into the warehouse. Riley saluted just as Sam pulled his gun from his waistband, but before he could even aim, she was already gone from sight.

They took the easy route through the twisting hallways of the old building and burst out into the open air, "Well that was fun." Daniel said sarcastically as he slowed down his pace, Riley fell into step next to him.

She rolled her eyes, before she searched the horizon for the black Impala. Riley spotted the gorgeous car across the road. "C'mon." She muttered before sprinting past him and ducking between the neatly cut gap of the wire. She jogged over the road and quickly popped the hood.

"We stealing it?" Daniel asked as he turned his back on her to keep an eye out for the Winchesters, just in case. Riley sighed with disappointment, "Sadly not, I have a feeling Dean would hunt us down if we did." She pulled out the spark plug again and grinned at Daniel's flash of confusion, "But that doesn't mean I can't have my fun."

Daniel's devilish side came out to play as he smirked and pulled his lock picking kit from his back pocket before tossing it to her with a flick of his wrist. His sister's schemes always had a way to highlight the fun that still existed in their crappy lives.

Riley caught the little kit expertly and rounded to the back of the car. She quickly picked the lock on the Impala's trunk and smiled in appreciation at the stash, "Wow," She breathed and Daniel came to stand beside her, his eyes widening at the sight before him, "Those boys might not be on the brighter side of life, but they sure as hell know how to lug around an armoury." She muttered, a low whistle slipping past her lips.

Riley blinked away her awe and pulled an empty little bag from between a shotgun and box of tapes. Riley stuffed the car piece into it before she slammed the trunk shut. She walked back to the front and dropped the plug on the ground before kicking it underneath the car. She slammed the hood shut, a wicked grin painted on her face.

"Are you trying to make it easy for them?" Daniel asked in amusement when they finally made their track down the road. Riley laughed and shook her head, "Trust me, it'll take him a while."

* * *

And so it did. Dean swore and cursed for an hour as he searched the entire car for the spark plug, _again_.

He fucking _hated_ her.

Sam just stood to the side after giving up twenty minutes prior. He laughed when his brother finally looked under the car and found the little bag hiding behind the tire. Sam had to admit that he'd had fun on this hunt, the Reagans had been something different to the hardened hunters he had grown used to. Daniel was refreshing with his quiet nature, but fierce comradeship. And Riley had just amused and surprised him. He felt a small grin pull at the corner of his mouth as Dean worked on putting the spark plug back in the car.

He didn't trust the siblings, but he sure as hell wouldn't mind running into them again.


	4. Chapter 4

**A lot of alcohol and a little bit of bonding**

The bar was stuffy, the leather seats torn and the food had the foul aftertaste of bad mustard.

But Dean wasn't here to eat.

He currently sat at the corner of the bar counter, his shoulders hunched and his eyes pensively staring at the whiskey tumbler resting between his fingers. The barmaid has been eyeing him all night, but Dean wasn't in the mood to roll between the sheets with a woman whose name he won't even be bothered to remember in the morning.

He took a tentative sip when a pang of pain shot up from his chest. He downed the drink when generous dark eyes flashed in his mind.

He shook his head and poured another glass.

He was drowning in his sorrows tonight, his little brother fast asleep at their motel, not even aware that he had snuck out. The hunt had been an easy salt and burn, but the memory of _her_ was nagging at his conscious today. It hurt too much to fall asleep.

Dean reminisced in old memories of year's past. He smiled at the memory of Ben snoring on his stomach, frowned at the memory of Lisa's hands cooking dinner and winced when he recalled how she had moved against him. Dean downed his drink again. The burning alcohol down his throat did not even _compare_ with the ache sitting where his heart should be beating.

Dean pursed his lips as he filled his drink again, maybe if he could drink _just_ enough to dull the pain, to perhaps block the memories pressing into his senses he would finally be able to sleep…

As the older Winchester pondered on the consciences that would follow from being absolutely wasted, a body slid into the seat beside him. Dean frowned, but did not turn to look. He was quite positive that he radiated the stench of self-loathing and active hostility.

An unintentional growl passed his lips.

"Don't worry, I'm only here to hit up some cheap beer." Came a very feminine and _goddammit!_ familiar voice.

Dean turned to glare at the woman seated beside him. He hadn't seen her in a year, the last time was before the whole 'Sam-going-to-hell-and-losing-his-soul' thing. She still looked as stunning and as confident as the day he had met her, but Dean couldn't ignore the feeling of dislike bubbling from underneath all his sorrow.

 _This woman fucked with his damn car, for christsake!_

"Riley." He said, his voice thick and gruff. Those stunning blue eyes turned to him, an eyebrow arching perfectly.

"Dean." She seemed preoccupied when she turned her attention to the busty blonde on the other side of the counter, "Oi! I need some liquor and I need it now!" She called. The blonde frowned back, but quickly hurried to grab a beer to plop it down in front of her.

Riley shooed her away and twisted off the cap. She turned her body to lean against the darkened wood, her eyes raking over the interior of the crappy bar. Dean watched her in distaste before he looked away from her and took a sip of his own alcohol, unaware of Riley's sideways gaze.

Riley was surprised to find the Winchesters on this case, she hadn't heard anything on 'Hunter Radio' about the two brothers since the great storm that almost flattened Chicago. She pursed her lips as she thought of what to do next. Dean was completely ignoring her, obviously he was going through a lot, if the half empty bottle of scotch was any indication.

Riley sighed and went against her better judgement, "So, 'you going to tell me why you're still in town?"

She watched him clench his jaw at her nonchalant question, "It's none of your business now, is it?" He growled softly. Riley narrowed her eyes. He was different, darker, like he had spent the last year suffering.

Riley bit the inside of her cheek, her mind racing to think of a way to drag a reaction out of him. Her eyes swept over the bar. An idea struck her.

"So where's your brother?" She asked. Dean's tightened jaw seemed to loosen just an inch, "Back at the motel." He murmured, his voice having softened. Riley knew bringing up his beloved little brother would slightly ease his anger at seeing her again.

Riley's eyebrows furrowed slightly, "What are you doing in this crappy place, alone, at 2 in the morning?" She asked, only mildly curious.

Dean sighed heavily and he turned to her, clear annoyance painted in forest green eyes, "You're not going to leave me alone, are you?" He snapped.

Her infuriating smirk was back and Dean's head reeled at seeing the familiar expression. An itch of competitiveness kicked in and Dean was wary to admit that it was because of her, the challenging air that seemed to surround her. He scowled and turned away from her, "I'm having a bad day."

Now _that_ , Riley could work with. She turned and leaned with her elbows on the bar, "You're telling me… Daniel and I drove cross country to gank this freaky ghost, but by the time we get here, we hear that she's already been salt and burned. Imagine my disappointment…" She sighed dramatically and Dean snorted before taking a sip of his drink.

Riley couldn't understand why she was hesitant to turn and stroll away, hips swaying, like she would any other day. Dean didn't like her and besides his godlike good looks she wasn't a big fan of him either. But something was _wrong_. And her heart just wasn't one to leave a fellow soldier behind.

Dean held the glass in her direction in mock cheers, "Sorry Sunshine, you snooze you lose." He muttered before he finished his drink.

Riley eyed him sceptically when he reached for the bottle of scotch for the fourth time since she walked into the bar. Only men with broken souls or shattered hearts drank that much in one go. Riley pursed her lips, for some reason she didn't like seeing Dean like this, with the ghosts of his personal hell still haunting him. Riley couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something more specific brothering him. Pushing away her urge to run, she reached out a hand to tentatively place over the glass.

Dean paused to turn and glare at her. It was a scalding gaze that matched the look he had given her when she was tied to a chair, the look had no effect a year ago and it still had no effect today. Her fingers firmly stayed over the glass as narrowed her eyes and lifted her chin in defiance. Riley's steely gaze didn't break from his as she tapped the bar to drag the barmaid's attention.

Wide brown eyes turned to her, Riley held up to fingers, "Get me two shot glasses and the strongest Vodka you got."

Dean's 'if-looks-could-kill' gaze was still trying to burn a hole in through her head. Being stubborn had always been one of her personality traits. Riley dragged his glass to in front of her, declaring silent victory. She held out her other hand, "If you drink that entire thing by yourself, your liver is going to commit suicide."

Dean instantly grew suspicious. His calculating eyes told her he doubted her true intensions. Riley rolled her eyes and ripped the bottle from his hands, effectively breaking the tense staring match, "Jesus, Dean, I'm not some teenage misfit who's going to steel your wallet."

Dean's lips twitched at her look of indignation, "Maybe not, but you are a thieving bitch who can hand my ass to me in less than five seconds." He replied softly. Riley cocked an eyebrow, the alcohol had obviously gotten to his head.

She poured herself a glass of his scotch, took a sip and smacked her lips together before she replied, "True," She shrugged, "but you'll be surprised to find that you can actually trust me."

Dean recalled green eyes and blonde hair, a witty retort and a devious smirk, he remembered the broken thief who had been dragged down to hell just a few short weeks before his own decent downstairs. Dean shook his head to rid himself of the memory, "Sorry Sunshine, but I don't trust anyone who screws with my car." He growled softly.

Riley stared at him for a good five seconds before she laughed, her head thrown back and the booming, care-free sound shocking Dean to his core. He bit the inside of his cheek and narrowed his eyes. He could feel the knot in his stomach untangle, he could feel himself growing comfortable around her, much like the night they had met. Dean didn't understand why he was so attracted to her, he couldn't understand why he found himself relaxing in her presence, even with the burning dislike in his stomach.

"Sweetheart, if I had _wanted_ to screw with your car I would have done a hell of a lot more than just hiding your spark plug." Riley replied, her eyes twinkling in glee.

The barmaid finally arrived with the Vodka and glasses. Dean's eyebrows rose as Riley slapped down a good wad of cash, "Leave the bottle." She ordered and she watched the girl pour two shots. Riley thanked her before she picked them both up and handed one to a hesitant Dean.

"I thought we were giving the drinking a break."

Riley snorted, "Hell no, the best way to get a man over his heap of shit is a good bottle of Vodka."

Dean eyed her sceptically. Riley felt the sudden urge to earn his trust. Riley hid the random need with a wicked grin, "We're gonna play a little game."

Dean's eyes grew guarded, "A game." He repeated slowly.

Riley nodded and raised the glass, "When I was 16 I got shot in the back by my brother." Riley looked at him expectantly, the only response he gave was a confused crinkle of his brow.

Riley rolled her eyes, "Now you tell me the worst thing that happened to you when you were sixteen. And who ever had the best life goes home drunk."

Dean couldn't stop the incredulous laugh from escaping, "Sunshine, I really hope you can hold your liquor."

Riley grinned at the challenge, her eyes lighting up, "You're on Winchester."

And the games began.

Dean's experience at 16 was a meagre one and he was the first to take a shot.

An hour later they were in their early twenties. Riley pulled a face after she had downed the shot, she couldn't beat Dean losing his brother to college and his dad basically exiling Sam from the family. Dean had a look of victory painted on his face as he was still holding the same liquor in his glass from three rounds back.

Riley shook her head, trying to escape some of the dizziness. She blinked and glared at Dean, "God, couldn't your life have been better?" Dean barked a laugh and shook his head, "Trust me, Sunshine, I wish it could've been too."

Riley blew out a breath, "Okay, 23. Go." Dean's eyebrows furrowed as he thought back nine years. His eyes lit up, "I lost the first girl I really cared about because I told her about my job."

Riley frowned slightly, "You told her you were a hunter and she broke up with you?" Dean nodded in slight dismay, "Called me a psycho too."

Riley winched, "Ouch, but… you're gonna have to drink this round." Dean smirked and shook his head in disagreement, "I don't think so, no hunting experience can compare to my broken heart." He playfully put his hand over his heart and dramatically sighed.

Riley looked away from him to stare at the bar, suddenly serious, "I got divorced."

Dean's eyes widened and he choked on air, "You were married?" He asked in disbelief.

Riley smiled sadly as she looked up at him, "Yeah, my life had been pretty good up to that point. Truth is, after the divorce everything basically went to hell."

"I actually went to hell." Dean murmured.

Riley chuckled, "Yeah, I heard the rumours." She leaned a little forward, her playfulness more forced, "But I still win this round." Dean huffed but threw back the shot anyway. The sudden burn down his throat caused him to wince.

Riley could see the darkness enveloping him had faded, it was probably because he wasn't focusing on the one thing that was actually driving him to the alcohol.

She watched him for a few more seconds before she initiated the final part of her plan, "So, you got anymore woe-is-me love life stories that are in no way gonna even _compare_ with my sorry excuse for a marriage?" She asked as she refilled his shot.

Dean frowned slightly. Riley was familiar with the look; he was trying to decide whether he was going to tell her something, whether he should…

Dean stared at her leg, his thoughts a jumble of sentences. He's had fun tonight, even if he had to visit some of the worst days of his life. Riley had a way to make everything less horrible. She also didn't push on the details, she was just naturally curious and when she finally graded his experience as the winner she would stop being curious and down her shot in defeat.

"I got one." He finally answered and just like that the shadow descended around him. Riley knew she had hit the nail right on the head. Dean was trying to drink himself into a coma because of a woman.

Riley shrugged in nonchalance like she had no ulterior motive up her sleeve, "So spill, Winchester."

Dean licked his lips and Riley denied that she found it attractive, "It's… a complicated story." He replied, he shifted in his seat. Riley narrowed her eyes, she didn't like that he was shutting her out again. She didn't like the darkness clouding in his eyes. She didn't like watching the world's problems settle themselves on his shoulders and him trying to carry the burden.

Riley took a deep breath to calm the sudden nerves, "I'm pretty clever, why don't you just start from the beginning and let me be the judge of how complicated it is."

Dean narrowed his eyes slightly and turned away from her, hiding his expression.

"When we freed Lucifer and were fighting to beat him… Sam had to go too." He said slowly, his voice gruff with the pain of the memory. Riley's eyes widened, "You said Sam was in the motel room."

Dean nodded, "He is. He just went to hell for a hundred years and spent it as Lucifer's personal punching bag."

Riley stared at him in stunned silence. She seemed to be frozen and Dean found it amused him. He smirked, "What's the matter, Sunshine, cat got your tongue?" He asked.

Riley blinked. She drank the shot still on the bar, "Okay, yeah, you win the game."

Dean snorted, "That's all it took to beat you?" Riley raised a cocky eyebrow, "Who said you beat me? I just said that your life has been much crappier then mine."

Dean frowned slightly at this development. He opened his mouth to argue that he, did in fact, beat her, but she interrupted him with a question of her own, "What were you up to?"

Dean's shoulders sagged slightly, "We agreed for me to move on." Riley's jaw clenched slightly. If her brother had been damned to an eternity in Lucifer's, the literal Devil's, presence, she would have done everything she could to save him. Riley decided to withhold judgement until the story was over, "And what does 'move on' mean?" Her voice had noticeably taken on a harder edge, but Dean didn't know her well enough to pick up on the change.

"Lisa." Her name was said with such regret that Riley felt her heart going out to the older Winchester. Then she scowled, because he was a total stranger and her heart didn't soften for complete strangers.

"You jealous?" Dean teased half-heartedly. Riley forced the scowl to slide into a look of disgust, "In your dreams, Pretty Boy."

They fell into silence and Riley felt like it was slowly sucking all the air from her lungs. Dean on the other hand reached for the scotch for the first time since she took it away from him.

"Why'd you let her go?" Riley asked. She had a feeling that this Lisa woman had been one heck of gal if she had spent a year in the presence of one heartbroken Dean Winchester.

"I had to keep her save." He answered. His voice was so low and gruff, Riley had almost missed what he said.

Riley pursed her lips as she turned to pour herself a shot, "Seems to me like you deprived yourself of a little piece of happiness." She said offhandedly.

"She almost got killed because of me. She and Ben don't deserve that." He shot back in order to defend himself.

Riley's eyebrows rose with incredulity, "She's got a kid? And you just up and left?"

Dean scowled and shot a heated look in her direction, "Proves how far you think. No, I didn't just up and leave. As far as they're concerned, I'm the reason they were in a 'car accident' and ended up in the hospital."

Riley stayed silent. It was one thing to lose someone that important, it was another when that person had no idea who you really were. Riley stared down at the shot before she threw it back. He had opened up to her, Riley believed in equivalent exchange so she told him of her own pitiful past,

"The reason my marriage didn't hold was because I started hunting again after my aunt and uncle were killed."

Dean didn't say anything, aware that she was trying to pull his head away from dark corners.

"We had been together since I was seventeen and we got married when I finished college. We had a good run, he knew about my life, my family, the job, but I agreed to retire when we came back from our honeymoon. We were going strong," She smiled slightly before a frown pulled down the corner of her mouth "and then Daniel showed up at my door in black and I didn't hesitate in grabbing my gun and storming out of the house."

Riley sighed before she took a sip from the bottle. She had lost patience for the tiny little glass.

"Family means everything to me, and back then, if you messed with family you'd be put through hell…" She mused as she stared off in the distance.

"So why the split?" Dean asked when she had been too quiet for too long.

Riley shrugged as she took another deep drink. She rolled her shoulders and licked her lips, "It worked for about three months, me being home during the week and hunting over the weekends with Daniel, but things got messy when I woke up in a pool of my own blood."

Her voice cracked for the first time and Dean tilted his head to look at her. He had forgotten that she had a past too, one that would scare the crap out of any normal person. One that had scarred her as much as his had scarred him.

"I had been ten weeks pregnant, and with the strain and fight of the hunt, I lost the baby."

Riley sucked in a sharp breath at the pain that suddenly shot up her ribs, the emotional trauma had been much worse than the physical. Dean turned to watch her, "And from there it all went to hell." He summarized.

Riley nodded sombrely and Dean let his chin drop, "Guess both our lives were thrown to the dogs, huh?" Dean mumbled. Riley swallowed and nodded before taking another drag from the Vodka.

Dean glanced in her direction before he too made a grab for the scotch and took a big gulp of the amber liquor.

They fell into silence and didn't say another word until Dean finally tipped the blonde bartender and disappeared out the door, Riley's eyes following his every movement.

The two hunters had made progress that night.

Dean had opened up for the first time about Lisa in months and Riley had talked about her miscarriage for the first time in years. Neither of them knew it yet, but the foundation of their relationship had been completed, and until the next time they saw each other, that foundation would keep them grounded.

Next time they would play their little games and have their little heart to heart, but only _after_ they almost kill each other.


	5. Chapter 5

**Frustration equals anger**

The war against the Leviathan had become tedious and the nerves grinding down on Sam and Dean were slowly driving them to insanity. So instead of killing his older brother for the newest little pet peeve, Sam had suggested a hunt: A strange string of child disappearances in small town Chapin, Carolina.

Dean had taken the idea in stride and the two brothers hit the road the next day.

They were currently sat in the bar, a beer in hand and softly going over what they knew. Dean was frustrated and Sam was starting to think that this hunt was doing more harm than good.

"C'mon Dean, it's only been four days, maybe there's something we missed."

Dean shook his head and took a sip from his drink, "I just don't get it, every supernatural being leaves a trace, even friggen ghosts cause cold spots."

Sam fell silent as his eyebrows crinkled in thought. What had they missed? They had asked every question, had checked every clue they could find, why had they only reached dead ends?

Dean's thoughts, on the other hand, were centred on the missing kids. Four of them were gone, one having disappeared merely two days ago. He was frustrated, this wasn't just any case, _kids_ were involved. Clenching his jaw he took a long drag from his beer.

A sudden eruption of cheers sounded from behind them and both brothers turned in unison to the cause of the noise.

"What the…?" Dean murmured in confusion at the sight of several people surrounding a table in the back.

"It's poker night." The bartender grumbled from behind them. Sam raised an eyebrow, "Do you always have such a crowd on poker night?" He asked.

The bartender snorted and shook his head, "We usually only got the five gamblers in town, but two new faces strolled in here about two weeks ago and poker night was suddenly popular amongst the locals."

Sam turned to share a meaningful look with his brother, "Two weeks, huh?"

The disappearances had started two weeks ago.

Dean pulled out five dollars and put it down on the table before he stood, "Thanks man, keep the change." Sam followed suit and the two brothers casually strolled over to the poker game.

Dean lightly pushed through the crowd and finally reached the make-shift poker table. He drew back in shock when a flash of blue instantly tickled everything.

She smirked at the sight of him and nudged the brother standing over her chair, his face a mask of amusement.

Dean swallowed, he hadn't seen her since that night in the bar about eight months ago. He had only thought about her a few times, mostly on lonely nights when he was drowning in the guilt from past mistakes.

Her eyes twinkled mischievously, "Finally, you know, I was wondering when you two would _finally_ show up."

Dean's mouth popped open in surprise, "Eh?"

Riley rolled her eyes and glanced down at the five cards held in her nimble fingers, she pursed her lips and shot her opponents wicked grins, "I'm all in."

She pushed all her chips to middle of the table.

All four men folded.

Riley grinned and showed them her crap hand before she scooped up her winnings. All of the participants groaned, while their crowd laughed and cheered yet again.

Daniel rolled his eyes and walked around to greet the Winchesters. "Hey guys." He held his hand and Sam hesitantly shook it, "What are you two doing in town?" Sam asked whilst glancing at his brother in surprise.

Daniel lifted his shoulders and stuffed his hands into his jean pockets. His eyes trailed to his sister who was collecting her winnings with a superior glimmer in her eye. He shook his head in amusement before turning back to Sam, "We've been looking for the same thing as you guys. No luck. I didn't think you two would actually show up."

Sam raised an eyebrow in surprise and turned to Dean. Dean's face was pulled into a frown and Sam just _knew_ his brother was thinking the exact same thing as him, "What are you two looking to steal and sell this time?" Sam asked.

Daniel only smirked.

Dean growled softly, he'd heard enough.

Dean's growing frustrations coupled with his anger caused him to reach out and slam Daniel against the wall. His hands balled in an iron grip on the guy's collar, "You're telling me that kids are going missing left and right and all you can care about is a stupid artefact?" He snarled so viciously even Daniel had to admit that he was a little freaked.

Dean was pissed and absolutely disgusted. He was about ten seconds away from putting a bullet in this guy's head for just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The familiar click of a gun ripped him from his murderous tendencies.

Dean slowly turned his head to find Riley standing with her gun aimed at _his_ head. Her eyes were set into a cold stare, her face completely neutral.

"I'll advise you to let go." She said casually.

Dean narrowed his eyes and they were locked in a combat of wills.

Daniel rolled his eyes in exaggeration. Dean's hands had lost their grip the second the hunter had turned to look at his sister.

Daniel glanced at Sam who was slowly trying to sneak up behind Riley. A flash of protectiveness caused him to open his mouth, "Cut the crap and let me fucking go, man." He snapped.

All eyes shot to him in stunned silence. He _never_ lost his temper. But just as the Winchesters were frustrated, so was he. Sniffing in indignation, Daniel shoved Dean's hands away from him and turned to his sister, ordering her, "Put the damn gun down."

Riley scowled but lowered her weapon nonetheless. She sniffed just as Daniel did and shoved the gun back into its place on her back. It was clear in that moment just how much alike she and Daniel actually were.

Sam seemed to sigh in relief before he glanced around him. The bar's patrons were all staring at them in silence.

Attention was not something they needed at this stage of their hunt.

Sam sighed again and moved to his brother's side, "Maybe it's time to take this outside." He murmured out of the corner of his mouth. Dean only then seemed to register all the people watching him. His eyes shot to Riley once again, her blue eyes glaring.

Dean didn't understand the crap hand Fate had dealt him this time.

He rolled his shoulders in an attempt for nonchalance before spinning around to walk out of the bar. Sam following after he shot a quick wave and smile to the barkeeper.

Just as the two brothers were pulling open the doors to the Impala, intent on just going back to the motel and sleeping off the bad day, Riley called out to them, "So what? You just slam my brother against the wall for no reason and then just walk away?" She demanded as she threw open the bar door. A look of anger painted on her face.

Dean rolled his eyes, "I'm not in the mood for your bitchiness, Sunshine. Maybe we'll catch up later." He said sarcastically before dropping down into the driver's seat. Riley huffed in frustration and knocked on his window before he could leave her in his rear-view mirror.

Dean groaned in annoyance and rolled the window down, "What?"

Riley narrowed her eyes, "Look, there's a reason why Daniel and I have been sticking around. It's not just about the money. There's something really weird going on and we haven't gotten far with our investigation." Riley pulled out a card from the inside of her jacket and threw it across the car into Sam's lap.

"Call me when your biased, single-minded head was pulled out of your ass." She straightened, turned and walked away, this time, her hips swaying. Dean scoffed, "Like we'll be needing your help!" He yelled before he burned rubber.

Sam had been quiet until they finally reached their room. His face pulled into a frown. Dean grumbled his way into the bathroom and the shower, he was still grumbling when he climbed into bed ten minutes later.

He was frustrated because of the hunt, upset about the Reagans being in town and angry that he almost _enjoyed_ arguing with Riley again.

He rolled around and struggled with his sheets as his thoughts all scrambled together.

They _needed_ to make headway in this case. He wasn't sure if those kids were still alive and he really didn't want to find their lifeless bodies. Sadness wrapped around him and caused him to still. This was what was important, saving people, killing monsters and at the moment they weren't achieving the one thing he was mildly good at.

"Dean." Sam's voice was quiet, but easily cut through the depressing turn his thoughts had suddenly taken.

"Yeah?"

"I think we should take up her offer. We don't have Bobby anymore to shine some light on this case. Maybe Daniel and Riley can actually help."

Dean shut his eyes for a second, "They're thieves, Sam. Remember the last time we mixed with a thieving bitch?"

Sam remembered Bela too. He sighed and slowly closed his laptop.

"Okay, Riley and Daniel grew up as hunters. I think they're different."

Dean didn't say anything. He knew Riley was different, you learn a lot about a person when you spend four hours as drinking partners.

"Do what you want, Sam." He finally told his brother before he forced away all thoughts of the Reagans and pushed the details of the hunt to the back of his mind. He shut his eyes and forced himself into slumber.

Sam stared at his brother's back for a few extra seconds before he pulled out his phone and the card Riley had thrown at him. He frowned as he stared down at his phone. Reaching out for help was the only thing he could think of. There were lives at stake and he wasn't risking four kids' lives for the sake of his ego. Blowing out a breath he hadn't realised he was holding, Sam sent a quick text to the number on the card.

 _Café across the maintenance store, 8:30 am._

Dropping his phone on the bedside table, Sam crawled into bed and fell asleep.

* * *

Dean wasn't all too happy about the arranged meeting the next morning, but to Sam's surprise his brother didn't complain one single word.

Riley and Daniel were already seated in a booth, four cups of coffee steaming on the table. Dean slid into the seat first and gave his cup a suspicious look.

Riley smirked, that infuriating smirk, "Just like last time, Pretty Boy. I'm not some serial killer who wants to roofie and kidnap you."

Daniel chuckled lowly before taking a casual sip of his coffee, his lightning eyes just daring Dean to take on his sister.

Dean scowled at Sam who had already added sugar and was enjoying the warm, dark liquid. He didn't understand how his brother could trust them so easily after last time.

Riley rolled her eyes at his grumbling and turned her attention to Sam, after all, he had been the one to contact her in the first place.

"So, Sam, since you guys are 'The Hunters' what have you got so far?"

Sam sighed as he put down his coffee cup, "We ran down some suspects, but turned up empty. This looks like it isn't our kind of case. The only thing really keeping us here is a gut feeling." He explained as he looked between the twins.

Daniel nodded and pulled a packet of sugar out of the dispenser to toy with, "Well, your gut feeling isn't wrong. This town was once a witch's farmer's market way back in the sixteen hundreds."

"So, you're saying magic?" Dean finally joined the conversation, his gaze steady and voice mildly disbelieving.

"Not exactly…" Daniel stretched before he turned to glance at his sister. Riley knew more about what was going on.

"Good, cause we didn't find any hex bags or sigils in the victims' homes." Dean said, his face condescending.

Riley ignored his jibe and focused her gaze on Sam. She crossed her arms and dropped her voice to a lower tone, "Magic is kind of a tricky subject. It doesn't just surround witches and talismans. It can come in different forms, exist in different environments." She explained. Her brain had been wrapping around these possibilities and concepts over the past two weeks and something inside her just knew she was heading in the right direction.

"I don't think it's magic entirely, but something we've never seen before is going on here, something really, really wrong."

Sam pursed his lips and pulled his laptop, "We tried looking for something that connected the kids. There's nothing except for the fact that they are the same age, they don't know each other, they go to different schools. I just don't understand how they're working."

Riley sighed and leaned away from the table, "Looks like we got a few smart sons of bitches on our hands." She muttered.

Dean's gaze was pulled to her as she leaned her forehead against the window. He glanced away and back to Daniel before he could be caught staring, "When in doubt, return to the crime scene."

Eyes snapped to him in surprise. Riley slowly sat forward, "That's actually… not a bad idea. Daniel and I haven't interviewed the parents yet."

Dean raised an eyebrow, "How come?" Riley shrugged as she shoved her brother to get out of the booth, "Because I'm an idiot and was researching the whole time." Dean snorted and watched as his brother shut his laptop again since it was obvious they weren't going to be staying in the café.

"We'll head to the most recent crime. Maybe Riley and I can spot something you guys missed." Daniel said as he quickly payed the bill.


	6. Chapter 6

**Because we're all actually hunters**

Half an hour later they were ringing the doorbell to Jake Hastings' house. The kid had been taken out of his room three nights ago. Mrs. Hastings opened the door and blinked in surprise at the four people standing at her door, "Agents." She greeted in confusion.

Dean smiled good naturally, "Mrs. Hasting, sorry to bother you again, but uh, the agency sent out two other agents to help us on this case and we were just making the rounds again." He explained.

Riley and Daniel held up their FBI badges, a small charming smile on Daniel's lips.

Mrs. Hastings glanced between the two badges, "Very well. Come on in." She opened the door and led them inside. The house wasn't anything special, wooden floors, white walls, spotless furniture. Riley narrowed her eyes at the smell of roses wafting around. She hated roses.

Daniel took the lead as he let her inspect the house on first glance, "Mrs. Hastings, I'm agent Simmons and this is my partner agent Fuller, I'd like to ask you some questions about your son?" Daniel's voice was low. The woman nodded her head and sat herself down on the couch. Dean and Daniel sat down on the pearly white couch opposite her.

"Can I get you anything?" Mrs. Hastings asked politely, her wide brown eyes staring at the people in her house as she curled her hands into her lap.

Before Daniel could respectively decline, Riley cut in, "Mrs. Hastings, would you mind if Agent Michaels and I had a look around?"

The mother shook her head, "No, go ahead." She said tentatively before turning her attention back to Daniel's questions. Riley shot Dean a pointed look, before she grabbed Sam's sleeve and pulled him along with her into the hall.

She felt like she had slipped on a pair of old comfortable boots as she switched into hunter mode. With her eyes sweeping over everything, her mind worked to pull all past jobs out of their dusty filing cabinets.

"This house is too clean." She muttered the second they were out of earshot. The smell of roses already had her on edge, but the fact that there were so little personal items or even toys, almost pushed her over that edge.

"Mrs. Hastings works for a professional cleaning business." Sam said as a means to explain. The younger Winchester watched in curiosity as her gaze studied everything with scrutiny, watched as her face morphed into that of complete concentration.

Riley pulled a face and frowned when they turned a corner into the washing room, "Nope, no mother of a five year old's house is ever this clean." She said as she pointed at the backyard through the window. The lawn was perfectly trimmed, twin plastic motorcycles lined up. They walked through the room and found the stairs. Riley glanced up to the roof and around the walls, something in this house had the hairs on the back of her neck rising. Biting her lip she started climbing the stairs.

"What are you looking for exactly?" Sam asked after he had patiently followed her through most of the house. Riley barely glanced at him as she opened another bedroom door. Her breath hitched. It was Jake's room, the bed had been made and the toys neatly put away in their respective boxes.

"I'll tell you when I find it." She answered before she entered to rummage through the kid's schoolbag, only to find crayons and a few sheets of paper. She shook her head and stuffed everything back into the bag. The room was too clean for her to even get a taste of the kid's personality.

"Something doesn't sit right." Riley said a few minutes later when they descended the stairs. "This woman's kid is missing, she herself is a mess, but everything in the house is spotless, even the kid's room." Riley grumbled, frustrated.

Sam shrugged. He had been curious to see how she hunted, but as far as he could tell, all they had been doing was opening closet doors and finding nothing but clean clothes and jewellery.

"Maybe that's how she deals. I've met some people who clean when they're stressed or panicky." Sam said.

Riley blew out a breath and made another round through the dining room. It was bare like the rest of the house, the walls painted a soft blue.

 _This woman has some serious issues,_ Riley thought secretly.

The only decoration was the show cabinet in the corner that seemed to hold a collection of fine china and silverware.

A single picture was placed on a small table in the corner. Riley frowned at the obscurity of it. The photograph contained Mrs. Hastings and her son smiling brightly from what seemed to be the playground in town. Riley tentatively picked it up and something suddenly occurred to her. She berated herself for not asking the question earlier, "Have you met the husband?" She asked as she spun around.

Sam frowned and shook his head, "No, I didn't think she was married."

Riley could've sworn she had seen a wedding ring. Riley tapped the picture against her other hand as she thought. She had a niggling feeling scratching the back of her neck. Placing the photo down, Riley turned to head back to the living room.

Daniel and Dean were doing a perfect job of keeping Mrs. Hastings occupied. Riley placed a hand on Daniel's shoulder and interrupted him, "Sorry to bother, Mrs. Hastings, but can you please inform me of the whereabouts of your husband?"

Mrs. Hastings blinked at the question. The four hunters watched as the woman's hands clasped together, she wrung them subconsciously. She wasn't wearing a wedding ring, but the tan marks sat there clear as day, "He's… on business for a few weeks." She said brokenly.

Daniel and Riley glanced at each other, communicating on a level that didn't need words. Daniel stuffed a hand into his pocket, "Mrs. Hastings, does your son play any sport?"

The woman nodded and her eyes lit up, "Oh, yes. Jake plays goalie for a soccer league every Monday and Thursday." Riley smiled and nodded, she lightly turned to Daniel, "Would you please remember to inform Mrs. Hastings on the procedures that we'll be following in tracking down her son?" She asked her brother as per usual.

The code was heard loud and clear.

Daniel feigned surprise and turned to the woman abruptly, "Ah yes! Agent Daniels and I would have to walk you through a few more things."

Riley left the two with the woman and motioned for Sam to follow her. Sam followed her into the kitchen, the only room they hadn't searched. It was messier and more colourful than the rest of the house, the sink was filled to the brim with plastic cups and plates. The counters were smeared with flour, the cupboards painted a lavishing yellow.

Sam frowned slightly. He was thinking what she was thinking, a clean-aholic wouldn't leave the kitchen unattended.

"Okay, I'm starting to see your point." He muttered as his hands started pulling cabinet doors open. Riley didn't waste any time and quickly crossed to the other side of the kitchen, she disappeared out of the doorway for a second before she returned.

Sam raised an eyebrow, "What're you thinking?"

"She's a soccer mom." Riley murmured more to herself, her hands travelled to the walls. Sam frowned, "How do you know?" Riley was frowning in concentration, her mind racing to put all the pieces together.

"She knows exactly what her son plays, the dishes in the sink are telling me that she probably packs his lunch herself and makes sure he gets every food group in his body, plus there aren't specific cleaning supplies in the closet. Either she's a very bad employee or she's lying about her job. My guess, she usually stays at home and bakes," Riley gestured to the flour on the counter, "while she waits for Jake to finish school."

Sam nodded, not entirely convinced. Riley didn't even bother looking at him before she pulled open the fridge. Sam's eyes widened, it was stacked with neatly labelled Tupperware and an entire shelf just for small cakes and pie.

"Convinced now?" Riley asked dryly.

Sam didn't dignify her with a response. He watched her walk along the walls, her eyes shut, her hands never leaving the surface.

"What are you looking for?" He finally asked when he couldn't figure it out himself. This woman definitely worked in strange ways and Sam was slowly starting to grow annoyed.

Riley didn't pause, "You don't leave on a trip for work when your only kid goes missing." She muttered in answer.

All his annoyance suddenly vanished and Sam suddenly understood in what direction her train of thought was heading, "You think she's hiding something."

Riley grinned in victory. She finally found that groove in the panelling.

"I know she's hiding something. Help me move this." She swung the door shut and tapped the fridge.

Sam moved to her side and together they moved the fridge as quietly as possible. Riley paused and signalled for him to listen for any oncoming footsteps. Sam took the lead when they didn't hear anything and hooked his finger into the little hole on the side to slide the panel out of the way. A dark door glared back at them.

"Basement?" Sam suggested.

Riley nodded in agreement as she turned the nob, only to find it locked. Sam pulled out a kit and knelt down, his hands working efficiently. Riley was impressed, he locked open the door quicker than Daniel ever had before. When the door finally swung open, Sam pulled out a flashlight and led the way down the stairs.

"Smell that?" He asked.

Riley was a few steps behind him and sniffed the air only to scrunch up her nose in disgust, "Smells like a steak that's been left out in the sun." She muttered.

Sam's flashlight slowly swept over the empty room. Riley was really hoping they didn't find anything and the room was just an inconvenience. Her hope was shattered when the beam of light landed in the far corner of the room. Riley shut her eyes and resisted the coffee forcing itself up her throat.

"Oh, that's gross." She murmured.

Sam's face was pulled into equal disgust, but walked to investigate the severed corpse. A man hung from the ceiling, his wrists slashed, his eyes missing and his lips seemingly cut off. One finger had been violently torn off and blood pooled on the granite floor.

"Think it's the husband?" Sam asked as he studied the body's wounds.

Riley resisted the urge to gag. She hadn't done this in a while, she studied the man's face. The only indication that proved him Jake's father was the silvery blonde hair that matched the kid's picture, "Oh yeah, he's the husband."

Sam sighed in disappointment. He swept the flashlight away from the horrible sight and scanned the walls behind the body. Riley shivered and shook her head, corpses and blood had always been her least favourite part of the job.

"Look at this." Sam said softly as he walked closer to the wall behind the body, a large symbol painted in blood. Riley frowned and she forced her disgust to the back of her mind to examine the different runes.

"I've never seen something like this before." She said, her head tilting to the side.

Sam nodded, "Me either."

The room fell into silence as they studied the strange markings. Riley's phone buzzed and she absentmindedly pulled it out of her pocket to frown down at the text.

 _Running out of time – Daniel_

She bit her lip and switched her phone to camera, "We'll figure it out later."

Sam turned to her as she took several pictures of the symbol before turning and taking a quick snap of the body.

"C'mon, Daniel said they were running out of time." Sam nodded and followed her up the stairs and back to the kitchen.

"So we just leave him?" Sam asked while they locked the door and slid the panel back into place. He sounded unsure, like it was unjust. Riley agreed, it was wrong to leave a body that damaged down in a dark hole to rot.

"We'll come back for him later, but right now this is our only clue and if we scare this bitch off now, we'll never find those kids."

Sam nodded in agreement and just as Mrs. Hastings was starting to get fussy with Dean and Daniel they appeared back in the living room, the kitchen exactly as they found it.

The woman crossed her arms and stuck her nose in the air, "I feel you should leave, Agents. Now." She was obviously pissed.

Riley glanced at Daniel in question, he was glaring at Dean. Riley rolled her eyes, she wasn't surprised that the older Winchester's mouth had probably run ahead and left his brain behind.

The four of them graciously exited the house, Mrs. Hasting slamming the door hard behind them. Dean led the way down to the cars,

"What you find?" He asked when Riley fell into step beside him, "Something very interesting," She replied softly.

Dean glanced up at the sky in relief, "Finally." He muttered.

* * *

An hour later they were crammed in Sam and Dean's motel room. Riley had stripped off her formal suit and was currently clad in a pair of jeans and an old Henley. She was comfortably seated on Sam's bed, her laptop and notes strewn around her.

Sam sat at the table, his own laptop open in front of him, vigorously at work. Daniel was lying on the ground staring at the ceiling and Dean was leaning against the kitchenette counter, a bottle of beer in the one hand and a small book in the other as he researched his own theories. Riley couldn't help but notice how he was still drinking rather excessively.

She ignored the urge to reprimand him like a mother for his alcohol misuse and instead finished reading her paragraph on psychopathic mothers.

Daniel slowly sat up and glanced at everyone in the room, "Okay, I think we should all lay down our separate theories on this case so we can brainstorm this bitch and get done with this hunt."

Dean snorted and dropped his lore book down on Sam's table, "Can't wrap your head around an easy concept? It's easy, wife kills husband, performs some wacko spell, kidnaps kid and pretends that she's some wallowing mother. I say she's a crazy witch and we just gank her already."

Sam and Riley shook their heads. "I think it's more complicated than that." Sam voiced Riley's own thoughts.

Riley and Daniel shared a quick look and she could tell her brother didn't like where he believed this case was going, "Something's not right," She tried to explain to the older Winchester, "Why kill her husband? Why kidnap a son she obviously adores? She hasn't left the house since Jake disappeared."

Nothing in this case made any sense.

Dean shrugged lightly and took a long drink from his beer. Riley watched him conspicuously as his chin dropped and his eyebrows furrowed. It was the picture of deep thought. Silence settled and Riley welcomed it eagerly to study the spell and its various runes. Maybe if she took it apart like a puzzle, she would actually be able to figure out what it was used for.

"What I don't get is the way he was killed." Dean finally said. All eyes jumped to him.

Daniel frowned, "He was hung up, tied by his wrists."

Dean shrugged before he threw the empty beer bottle away and sat down in the chair opposite Sam, "Exactly, why string him up like a pig? Why not just kill him and be done with it? It's obvious from the blood loss and wounds that this guy was alive when his wife butchered him." Dean explained.

Sam perked up, "Raised like a pig for slaughter." He muttered and started typing away at his computer.

Riley frowned, she didn't understand.

Daniel on the other hand did, "Riley, see if you can find a rune of some god-like entity on that symbol." He said as he pushed himself onto the bed next to her.

Riley raised an eyebrow, but quickly flicked through all the different runes. She found nothing that resembled a symbol of some all-powerful entity, nothing she recognised. She looked up at Daniel and shook her head. Dean looked to Sam.

Sam was frowning at what he found on the internet, "He was sacrificed." Riley's eyebrows jumped into her hairline at his casual remark.

Then she felt stupid because she should've thought of that, "Sacrificed for a spell…" She added as her confused gaze fell back on the photo.

"We got two main questions then: Why and what?" Daniel said. He grabbed a piece of paper and started scribbling the rune down, maybe he could see differently if he drew the thing himself.

Riley left him to his own thought process and clicked through her photos again.

"What about the other kids?" She asked. She looked up when Dean was the one to answer, "One parent each too… One of the women was divorced, though. And another kid only had a dad."

"A dad, huh?" Riley mused, "Sam, can you try again to see if you can find any relation to the parents of the missing kids?"

Sam didn't even look up before his fingers were flying across the keys, willing to try anything if it meant solving this case.

For the next hour, the room was silent except for the scratch of a pencil and the clicking of laptop keys. Dean was back to reading through some lore books to see what he could find, whilst Daniel was taking half of the blood spell apart.

Riley's mind, on the other hand, was somewhere else. They had stumbled upon this case, because they'd heard of the romours of the powerful witches who had gathered here thousands of years ago. She and Daniel had just arrived in town when the first kid got kidnapped. At first it had seemed like a normal human crime, but as the week dragged along and another kid was nabbed. Riley couldn't concentrate on their search for any valuable spell or trinket, so they had taken a crack at the case.

They quickly came to the conclusion that they were out of practise and needed a little help, and even though Riley wasn't a big fan of the Winchesters, she had anonymously dropped Sam an e-mail so they could show up in town. She had to wait an entire week for them to get their asses down here.

To tell the truth, Riley was quite surprised to find them in town. Like the previous year, she hadn't heard much on 'Hunter Radio', except for the few times she'd heard of a big case that had been solved in some backwards small town in the middle of God know where.

"Riley." Riley's head snapped up at the mention of her name. Her brother and the Winchesters were all staring at her with raised eyebrows.

Riley resisted the heat that slowly crept up her neck. She shook her head lightly, "Sorry, got a little lost there, yeah? What did you say?"

Daniel rolled his eyes in annoyance, "We found something." Riley straightened a little and turned her attention to Sam.

Sam shook his head in amusement before he continued, "They went to high school together." Riley shrugged, "Everyone in this town went to high school together."

This was where Sam smirked, a twinkle of superiority shining in his eye, "True, but I dug up some old class schedules and our four lonely parents were in the same AP English class back in their junior year."

Riley nodded and slowly put down the paper she was still holding, "Okay, I'm intrigued. What else did you find?"

Dean crossed his arms. Riley only then realised that he had moved to lean against the wall next to the bed.

"There were ten students at the start of the semester, by Christmas break, five of them dropped out. The other five stayed, but that's not the freaky part."

Riley raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to elaborate. Daniel was the one to tell the rest of the story, "At the end of the year their new teacher, Mr. Collins dies, of a heart attack at the age of 25, the night of graduation. Class is disbanded, but his remaining five students stick together like glue for their senior year. When they graduate, they never talk to each other again."

Riley narrowed her eyes suspiciously. She knew from personal experience that you at least try to stay in touch with your friends from high school for about half a year before really giving up.

"Okay, random. Why the heart attack?"

Dean lifted his head a little, "Strain." He drawled.

Riley's answer was a deadpan expression. 25 Year olds didn't just drop dead because they were a little 'stressed out'.

"So the teacher was in on it. Now we just have to figure out what the hell _it_ is." Riley said glumly, her sarcasm causing Daniel to cringe.

"Have a little faith, sis. How much of that rune did you decipher?" Riley wanted to whine like a fifteen year old. She hadn't been focusing on the damn rune at all. Grumbling underneath her breath she pulled the laptop on her lap again and stared at the photo like the answer… was… going… to pop out of nowhere…

Her eyes widened.

"I think I know what spell she did."

Riley jumped up to grab one of the books on the table. Daniel and Dean both flocked to either side of her as Riley flipped through a tiny book Daniel always brought along when they were looking for valuable artefacts.

She found the symbol she was looking for in the chapter on demons.

"Daniel, this rune," She pointed to his sketch of the spell, "Recognise it if you just adjust the angle?" She turned the paper sideways. Daniel's eyes widened, "It's a cloaking spell." The two twins stared at each other in bewilderment. They had never seen such a spell of this magnitude before.

"I'm sorry, would you two mind to let us in on your little geek squid?" Dean said dryly. Riley rolled her eyes and resisted the urge to push his face away, "Maybe if you had known a little more about magic your brain would've understood what we just said." She snapped. Dean's little digs was starting to annoy the crap out of her.

"Easy tiger," Daniel soothed, he looked at Sam, "The symbol signifies mist or fog. Back when tribes still ruled America, the natives believed that the mist was a cloak to hide the presence of a monster or demonic creature. The stories go that whenever the fog rolled down from the mountains the whole tribe was ordered indoors until it cleared. Some legends say that if any person was left behind, he'd disappear forever."

Daniel explained calmly, "Riley and I had a run in with a witch who specialized in these kinds of spells."

Sam frowned when he looked to Dean. Riley raised an eyebrow when they seemed to be communicating without words. It was Dean who finally spoke up, "So what does this spell actually do?"

Riley bit her lip and sat down heavily in a chair. She flipped through a different book absentmindedly, "Usually a cloaking spell is cast to hide the presence of a monster, but I've never seen a spell like this one." Riley tapped the drawn rune. "Demons and monsters are different, their strengths are varied. If this woman had to kill her husband, someone close to her, then the thing she let into her house is bad news."

"It's something really powerful." Daniel muttered darkly.

He turned away from his sister and put his hand under his chin. Riley pursed her lips and studied the symbol again, "You know, now that I know what it was used for, maybe I can figure out what it was meant to keep hidden." She said, exhausted already at the prospect of more research.

Sam smiled, "You can do that?"

Riley's eyes twinkled at his teasing, "I used to dabble in some witchcraft."

Sam's jaw almost dropped and Dean's eyes widened. Riley didn't let them bombard her with questions because she was already giving Sam something else to research and ignoring Dean's stuttering anger.

Later, when Daniel and Riley were seated side beside, speculating on the different kinds of monsters, Dean decided he was bored and needed food. He rose to his feet and grabbed the Impala's keys.

"Getting some grub?" Sam asked quietly. Dean nodded and tapped the table subconsciously, "Yeah, you want something specific?"

"Beer!" Daniel and Riley said from across the room without even raising their heads.

Dean snorted, rolled his eyes and looked back to Sam, "Some chicken salad would be really good." Sam said sheepishly.

Dean rolled his eyes again, "Great, now you're making me buy rabbit food." He grumbled indignantly.

Riley snorted, "If it'll make you feel better, you can get me some greasy fries and an extra-large double decker cheese burger." She said sugary sweetly.

Dean just managed to hide his surprise by crinkling his nose, "What do I look like? Your personal slave?"

Riley barked a laugh and shot him a mischievous smirk, "I'll let you know when you get the chance to be promoted to even that."

Daniel choked on a laugh and Sam couldn't bite down on his grin fast enough.

Dean couldn't think of a witty retort quick enough, "Well you can… eat that promotion." He grumbled and the other three hunters burst out laughing.

Dean was cursing himself all the way out to the Impala.

An hour later when they were all sitting in silence, steaming hot food on their plates, Dean decided he'd had enough of staring at words that didn't give him answers. Instead he opted to watch Daniel.

He had been ever since they met again in the bar yesterday. Daniel hadn't changed much since their first encounter way back when. The guy was still as tall as King Kong, and he was even broader now than he had been then. His hair was cut short on the sides and was grown longer on top. His blue eyes were as bright as before, but his personality was slowly starting to round out a lot more. From their interactions, Dean could tell that Riley and Daniel were extremely close. They could have an entire conversation without uttering a word and only looking at each other.

Whatever Riley did, Daniel could fall in step right next to her even if most people would stumble and fall flat on their faces first. Dean could also swear he had heard them complete each other's sentences. With all their brilliant teamwork and close to telepathic relationship, there were no other two people less alike.

Where Riley was fiery and a pain in the ass, Daniel was calm and collected, Dean could talk to him about cars for hours on end. Riley could sit still and read until next week whilst Daniel had to move constantly and do different things. He would read a lore book for twenty minutes while lying on the ground before moving to lean on the bathroom door to sketch.

Dean was curious what Daniel had been doing before their lives had gone to shit. If he remembered correctly Daniel had just started out as a mechanical engineer in California when their aunt and uncle were murdered. It explained the sketches of various engineering mechanics.

Riley was the more obvious hunter. She carried herself like she owned the world and the world owed her everything. She was clever and a quick thinker in the field, even with her strange aversion towards blood and gore, she pushed through her apprehensive tendencies to get the job done.

"What you staring at Pretty Boy?" Riley snarked without even glancing up from her work.

Dean blinked, but wouldn't let her amazing observation skills get the better of him, "Just wondering where you fell out of the bus."

Riley hadn't expected that.

She looked up at him confused, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Dean recognised the barely there tremble of her indignation and he smirked in silent triumph, "I mean Daniel is pretty level headed, I was just wondering why every little thing sets you off. Is it the hormones?"

It was a pretty low blow, but the words left his mouth before his brain could fully digest them.

Sam snorted and rolled his eyes. Riley's jaw dropped and she shot Daniel a small significant look.

There it was again, their silent, yet effective, communication.

Riley's jaw snapped shut and she turned to Dean with a defiantly raised chin. Dean didn't like the glint in her eyes, "Don't play coy with me, Winchester. At least I don't hit first and talk nicely later."

Dean narrowed his eyes at her when she just ever so slightly tilted her head in Daniel's direction.

Dean would never admit to being embarrassed, but the slight nod had him thinking about how he had so viciously slammed Daniel against the wall last night. So instead of remarking something stupid, he dropped his chin and kept his mouth shut.

Daniel and Riley conspicuously high-fived when Dean wasn't looking.

It was in that moment that Dean actually realised _why_ they were so close. They didn't have anyone else. Daniel only had Riley and Riley only had Daniel. They were more than just siblings or hunting partners. They were each-others _pillars_ in this murderous world they called their own.

 _They're a lot like us,_ He thought.

"Dean." It was Sam who finally snapped Dean from his inner pondering.

Dean turned to his little brother, "Please let it be good news."

Sam turned the laptop with a frown, "I haven't figured that part out yet. Does this look familiar to you?" Sam pointed to one of the various runes on the symbol, it was vague with its poor quality and even crappier lighting. The star shaped mark sat high in the corner of the picture, where it was barely hidden in shadow.

Dean's own curious expression morphed into a worried frown as he pulled down his shirt for confirmation, "It kind of looks like our tattoos." He muttered more to himself than anybody else.

In an instant both Daniel and Riley were up and ripping the laptop away for their own greedy eyes. Riley couldn't understand why she hadn't figured it out earlier. Daniel gripped her hand without even realising as they looked up at each other, "This is bad." He said, eyes wide.

Riley nodded, for the first time she wasn't afraid to show the world her fear, "Really bad." She choked.

"What? What's so bad?" Sam insisted as he stood from his chair.

There was a brief pause before they turned and spoke in unison, "Demons."

The Winchesters eyes' widened and there was a beat of silence before everyone moved at the same time. Sam grabbed his gun and his jacket whilst Dean snatched up his keys and stuffed his gun into his jeans. Riley pulled on her boots in record breaking time and Daniel was patiently holding the door open, their own car's keys dangling from his fingertips.

They left the room like a squad going to war.

"Sam and I will hit two houses." Dean began.

Riley jammed a new magazine into her faithful gun, "Daniel and I will hit the other two."

"If it was a groupie kind of thing," Daniel started whilst pulling the car door open.

"Then we break the weakest link." Sam finished.

Riley and Daniel stared at the two Winchesters and they stared back, "Saving those kids are our top priority right now." Dean said.

Riley didn't think he could be so authoritative. Daniel licked his lips and nodded, "We have to move fast. I don't like how this is looking."

Sam cleared his throat and leaned on the Impala's hood, "Stay in touch when you find something. We'll hit up Mrs. Hastings again."

Dean pursed his lips and glanced at Daniel before his eyes unwillingly rested on Riley's, "Be safe."

Riley smirked, "Always am, Pretty Boy."

Car doors slammed and tires squealed as four hunters raced off.


	7. Chapter 7

**It happens to the best of us**

"Grab the kids!" Dean yelled barely just ducking behind the wall. Sam nodded from the broken down shed before turning and dashing in the direction of the farm house.

Riley was standing flat against the wall, her heart racing and her breathing quick, "We need to get this son of bitch. If Arian escapes, he can start his sick little breeding project all over again."

They were in an abandoned barn on an old farm on the outskirts of town. Demons surrounded them and Riley's neck and shoulder was covered in blood from where a demon had gotten lucky with a particularly sharp farming tool, thank God for Sam pulling the damned thing off her.

After they had separated at the motel, Sam and Dean had gotten to the last kid just in time, saving Mrs. McLane and forcing her husband to sing like a canary.

His name was Arian, an ancient and extremely powerful demon. From what Sam and Dean had pieced together the demon had been around since the fall of Lucifer, one of the second generational demons.

Arian's plan was absolutely crazy and brilliant at the same time.

He wanted to rule hell, wanted to burn the world, but to do that he had to open a Gate _to_ Hell.

His plan had started way back in the 1600's, toying with a handful of teenagers, manipulating and fooling them into the thirst for immortality. The plan was finally unfolding with five children from _this_ generation who were supposed to have the most tainted blood. They were to be sacrificed to Arian, who would then use their souls to pry open a portal straight into the heart of hell.

But Sam and Dean being Sam and Dean were fighting against all odds to save the world, again. Only this time they weren't alone. When the four hunters had finally come face to face with Arian, Riley had taunted him just enough for him to spill his entire plan. Pride was a powerful emotion, especially when you knew how to use it against someone else.

Mrs. Hasting, Mr McLane and three others had been brainwashed during their high school years by their so-called English teacher. Arian had merely adopted the poor man as a meat suit. The five teenagers were given specific instructions to find and marry a 'mate' so they could conceive a child who would later be sacrificed. Arian had promised them immortality in return. The 'mates' had been a necessary evil to keep hunters out of his plans. He hadn't counted on the Winchesters and the Reagans joining forces.

Daniel had listened to the entire tale, anger slowly consuming him to such a degree that he actually shot one of the brainwashed slaves. Riley didn't blame her brother for his hate against such evil, but the gunshot was like a red flag rising for war.

When several hundred demons suddenly appeared at Arian's command, Dean, Sam and Riley had no choice but to fight whilst Daniel had taken off in search of the four kidnapped kids. Riley was almost pretty sure that she wouldn't make it off this farm alive.

Dean and Riley fell silent as they listened for movement, they just needed five seconds to catch their breaths before heading back into the fight. Somewhere in the last few minutes where Riley had almost lost her life, Dean had given her his angel blade. She had enjoyed finally being able to cause damage to the devil's spawn.

Riley now clutched that same blade to her chest, her heart racing with adrenaline.

"Hey, Sunshine?" Dean muttered suddenly.

Riley's mouth lifted into a weak version of that infuriating smirk, "Yeah, Pretty Boy?"

"Would you really have shot me in the bar?" He asked. His face was pulled into a playful smile, but Riley could see the fear and determination in his eyes. It was a strange question, but Riley answered him anyway. She snorted, "Yeah, you don't lay a hand on my big brother and expect to still keep it."

Dean raised an eyebrow, he was looking for a distraction and he almost verbally thanked her for giving him one, "Oh, so you're the little sister?" He mocked with a crooked grin.

Riley growled lowly and crouched down when a group of demons raced past their temporary hiding spot, "We're five hours apart."

"Huh," He responded. Riley's phone vibrated and she pulled it out.

 _Got 'em, meet u in 5 – Daniel_

Riley stuffed the little thing into her jeans and took a deep breath before looking back to Dean, "Distraction time."

Dean nodded and together they sprinted from their hiding spot and raced through the barn, right into the visual range of the demons. Riley smirked when she came to a sudden stop, she lifted her hand and graced them with her favourite gesture, "Come and get it motherfuckers." She winked and shredded after Dean again, the echoes of screeching demons following her to the outside.

"Did you purposefully just piss them off?!" Dean yelled when she finally managed to catch up to him. Riley's legs were burning when they came to a halt a good half a mile from the barn, "I couldn't resist." She breathed.

In the darkness they could just barely make out ten bodies. Riley subconsciously shifted closer to Dean so they were shoulder to shoulder. For all her bitching and whining about him over the last few years, she wouldn't have anybody else to cover her back.

"You know, Dean. If we make it out of this, I'll take back almost every shitty thing I've said about you." She managed to keep her voice normal and witty enough as the demons slowly spread out around them. Her heart was hammering so hard it physically hurt. She had never taken on so many demons before.

Dean barked a strained laugh and his shoulders tensed with the anticipation of the fight.

"If we live through this, maybe I'll forgive you for messing with my car."

Riley didn't have the time to snort and tell him to get over it already. Three demons jumped her from different angles and just like that her connection to Dean's shoulder was broken as she dived forward to meet the black eyed son of a bitch head on.

* * *

Dean jammed Ruby's knife into the last bastard's neck right before it could finish choking the life out of her. Riley gasped and welcomed the air surging back into her lungs. Dean hastily bent down to see if she was okay.

"C'mon, Sunshine, we got one more demon to go." Dean whispered as a sort of encouragement.

Riley thought of Sam and Daniel and all those kids they still had to get back home. She swallowed the pain and nodded before letting Dean pull her to her feet.

Riley and Dean burst in through the doors to catch the first few words of the exorcism spell rapidly being yelled by Sam. They came to a stop to watch Arian wither and flinch against the pull of hell.

"You think you've won? You think you can send me back to hell without consequence?" He screamed.

Riley had to admit that she didn't really think sending him back to hell would solve their problems. After all, cockroaches can crawl up out of their holes. She swallowed the lump in her throat when a vicious shiver travelled down her spine as Arian's eyes fell on her for a second.

Arian took a step forward and raised his trembling hand. Riley watched with horror as Sam was wrenched from where he stood by an invisible force, flew across the air, right into Arian's grip.

They hadn't had time to draw a devil's trap. Arian could use his power without breaking a sweat.

"Sam!" Dean called, his voice suddenly filled with so much rage. He made to move forward to help his little brother, but he was frozen to the spot by Arian's power. Sam chocked on his words and Arian's grip tightened around his throat, the spell's effect on the demon shattered and Arian sucked in a deep breath,

"I've been working for centuries to open this gate, and a group of pesky hunters will not foil my plan." He snarled. Riley scowled when she realised she couldn't move either. Sam tried clawing at the hand slowly crushing his windpipe.

Riley glanced around the room, relieved to see that Daniel was nowhere in sight. She surprised herself by only thinking of him now. A small part of her didn't mind dying, even with Arian's white eyes grinning at them from across the room. She was terrified, but as long as Daniel was safe, she could die in peace. It was a selfish thought. But Riley had never really learned how to be selfless. At least with her gone, Daniel would be free from the life. He could go back to California, reopen his shop, maybe even sell their old house. Daniel had had so many dreams for his future and she had selfishly been ripping it all away from him.

Dean's angry roar ripped her from her thoughts, "You let my brother go now, you son of a bitch or I swear I will kill you."

Arian could only laugh and tighten his grip with glee.

Riley saw a flash of movement in the shadows to her right. Her eyes widened when she recognised that shape. Before she had the time to call out to Daniel, he had already tackled Arian from the side. The great demon was so stunned, his meat suit obeyed the laws of physics and went crashing to the ground. Riley suddenly felt the invisible force's grip fall away.

Sam stumbled away unharmed and Dean rushed to his brother's side.

Riley was so stunned, she could only watch in horror as Daniel and Arian rolled and struggled with each other.

Arian got the upper hand fairly quickly and wrapped his arms around Daniel's head.

It was like watching a slow motion scene of a movie. Panic welled up within her and with a desperate cry Riley called to the demon, "Don't!"

Arian seemed only to pause _for a second_ , Daniel's sky blue eyes only had time to connect with hers _for a second_ , before a sickening crack resonated around the barn.

Riley screamed when her brother's broken neck couldn't support his head anymore and it went limp.

"Sam, the spell!" Dean's voice vaguely reached her ears.

Pure and ugly rage enveloped her. Riley rushed forward to tackle Arian to the ground. With a vicious scream she rained punch upon punch on his face. Sam had to stop the spell to watch in amazement as Riley physically beat down the most powerful demon she had ever faced.

Riley didn't give Arian a second to breath as her fist connected with his jaw again and again. All she could think was that this _thing_ had taken her only brother from her, her _partner_. Her blind rage caused her to raise her blade and jab it into Arian's neck, his chest, his stomach, anywhere that was a weak point to the human body, just so she could imagine inflicting pain.

She barely even noticed the unnatural flickering of his skin as he died.

"Riley." Sam breathed as he took a hesitant step forward. Riley had tears rolling down her cheeks as the blade kept coming down onto the body.

The rage slowly drained away when gut-wrenching sobs shook her too much. Her energy diminished and left Riley a broken mess. She slid off the blood drenched body and crawled over to where Daniel's lifeless body laid.

Dean and Sam sucked in a sharp breath when Riley curled herself around Daniel's head and screamed until she couldn't anymore.

The sound was high-pitch, ear splitting.

There was no other release to the pressure pushing down on her chest. She had never felt such pain before, had never been effected by loss like this.

Her voice was hoarse when she started apologising, "I'm so sorry, Danny. I'm so sorry." She choked on her words and a sob tore from her throat again when she realised that her words would only fall on deaf ears.

She was shattered.

It felt like her heart had been ripped out of her chest and was lying in some cold freezer where she could still feel it slowly losing warmth.

Riley's fingers and toes were numb with grief as her shaking hand slowly closed her brother's eyes. Never again would his blue irises light up to make her laugh with a funny face or soften with remorse when they had to break bad news to a family. Never again would they be able to do the most natural thing in the world, _see_.

She shook her head in denial, her voice gone and her body just wanted to lie down and cry for the rest of her life.

Daniel had been her best friend since they had been born. He comforted her in times when her parents couldn't and had saved her life more times than she could count. Daniel was her other half and had gotten her through the worst times in their life. He had been there through her miscarriage, had been there through her divorce and the death of their parents.

Daniel was her shoulder to cry on and her pillar to lean against when things got rough.

Now he was gone and Riley just couldn't see herself living in this world without him.

She was shaking and mumbling nonsense when Dean finally decided he couldn't take it anymore. He glanced to Sam and slowly moved forward, "Riley?" He asked cautiously.

Her mumblings only grew louder, like she wanted to drown out the world.

Dean sighed and he swallowed the lump in his throat, he had never seen anybody like this before. It scared him to watch this strong woman slowly lose her mind, lose herself over the death of her brother.

Dean knew how it felt to lose a brother, it was earthshattering, it felt like you couldn't breathe and afterwards it felt like there was always something missing, always that gaping hole in your life. Dean had been lucky though, he had managed to save his brother from death's hands both times. It occurred to him now, that there was nothing Riley could do to save Daniel.

There was nothing _he_ could do to save Daniel. Sympathy washed over him and he had never wanted to comfort anyone more.

Dean crouched down beside the heartbroken woman and put a hand on her shoulder, hoping to give her something to pull her back to reality, "Riley, let go." He murmured.

It was the wrong thing to say and she just screamed louder and gripped Daniel tighter.

It was Sam's turn to try. Sam crouched down on the other side of Daniel's body, "Riley, I know this is hard. I know you want to curl up and die right next to him, but you can't. Daniel wouldn't want you to. I know from personal experience that he'd want you to rise. He'd want you to move on. Now I know this is going to be hard, but for you to do this you need to let go first."

Riley was shaking, her jaw clenched. Her bloodshot eyes lifted to meet Sam's gentle gaze.

"He's my brother." She sobbed. It was her last lifeline, her last chance for holding on.

Sam's eyes softened even more. He turned his head to look at Dean. Dean was too busy watching her, his eyebrows crinkled with worry and despair.

Sam smiled sadly at the irony of it all.

He turned back to her and his face mirrored her agony, "There's nothing I can tell you that will make you feel better. I can only say that it'll get better and Daniel didn't die in vain. We saved four little kids today but the mission isn't over quite yet. We need to get those kids home, and only way to do that, it to let go of his body." Sam's voice was soft and comforting.

Riley barely managed to see the logic through her agony. Daniel would want this. He'd want her to finish the job and get those kids home.

Riley stared down at her brother, memorising every feature, every freckle. Her fingers combed the hair out of his eyes one last time. She took one deep breath and steeled herself for what would come next.

Let go of Daniel? She could do that, or at least, she could try.

She leaned down to kiss his forehead, her lips lingering on the already chilling skin before she slowly put him down and stood on shaking legs. Dean caught her before she could collapse.

Riley looked to Sam and instinctively reached out a hand. Even though it was covered in blood, Sam took it without hesitation and squeezed.

With Dean's arm around her shoulders and Sam's hand intertwined with hers she managed to find the strength to leave the barn.

* * *

His body was wrapped in the motel's sheets. The pyre Sam and Dean had built was sturdy. Riley pulled off the dog tag engraved with his name and hung it around her neck before she dropped her mother's favourite lighter onto the pyre.

The flames steadily grew bigger, slowly eating away at the wood and just barely licking the edges of Daniel's body. Riley stood as close to the fire as she could, hoping the warmth would heat up the ice in her veins. She was numb, her eyes red with the tears she had shed the previous night. Riley wasn't sure if she could ever cry again.

Sam and Dean stood more to the back. Their shoulders and hands were covered in ash from the multiple bodies they had burned during the early morning. Dean tried dusting the dirt on his pants to no avail.

Guilt. That was the emotion threatening to swallow her.

 _I let this happen,_ Riley thought when the smell of burning flesh finally reached her nostrils. She was nauseous, exhausted to the bone, but she couldn't pull away from the heat slowly burning her cheeks.

If she had just moved on when they'd had the chance, if she had urged Daniel more to return to his old life, maybe he would have found a pretty girl, one who loved him for all his silence and brilliant mind. She was surprised to feel the tears behind eyes.

She shouldn't have let him attack Arian. She should've been faster.

Riley should never have let him _die_.

"I guess this is where we say goodbye." Riley choked. Her words were barely loud enough for the Winchesters to hear.

Riley swallowed the thickness in her mouth, sniffed away the threatening tears, "How am I going to do this? How will I live without you? You're my best friend, have been since we were born." The tears were back and Riley was almost sobbing, but words were still tumbling from her mouth. Words she could rely on when actions did nothing.

She sniffed and fell silent, a single tear rolled over her nose and down to the ground. _No, this isn't how it's done. You've always been strong for me. It's my turn to be strong for you._

Riley lifted her head, straightened her back and looked up at the sky.

"I'm getting ahead of myself," She couldn't help to smirk, "There's so much still here, Daniel. God knows what Nathan and Tristan are going to do when they hear about this…" She choked on a humourless laugh and looked to the ground. Her hands intertwined and started toying with her mother's wedding ring on her finger.

"I remember when we were young, that you were the little one. Remember how I went around and told everyone that you were my little brother?" She paused to catch her breath, "Those were the days. Look I'm not going to preach to you, Danny. Way back when, we promised that with this life came a lot of death, we just never thought that meant each other."

"I'm not ready, Daniel." She confessed, "I've never been good with goodbyes, you know that better than anybody, but I guess moving on is the next step." Riley snorted, she barely believed her own words. She didn't know how to do this. She didn't know how to live without the one person that's always been there.

Riley took a deep breath and shut her eyes tightly, "Let's compromise, I won't say goodbye, instead, I'll say that someday I will see you again. You've always had my back, and no matter where you are, I know you'll still take good care of it. You are the best damn drinking partner I've ever had, you're the best brother. And I'll miss you so much, Daniel, but one day, I'll see you again."

She couldn't say anything else. There weren't enough words to describe the pain slowly eating her from the inside. Riley wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to keep it together. She was failing when tears slowly started streaking down her burning cheeks.

Sam and Dean glanced at each other after Riley grew quiet. They stood with their hands in their pockets, the weight of yet another dead hunter settling heavily on their shoulders. The sorrow however was directed more to Riley. She had been as close to her brother as Sam and Dean were to each other. The thought of the one ever permanently losing the other kept them both up at night. They could imagine Riley's pain pretty vividly.

"I want to take her with us." Sam said suddenly.

Dean glanced at him from the corner of his eyes before looking back at Riley and raising an eyebrow. He couldn't say he was surprised, "You wanna tell me why you think travelling with her is such a good idea?"

Sam shrugged, "Daniel saved my life by challenging Arian. The least we could do is make sure his sister survives the grief."

Dean pursed his lips lightly in a way that signified his disapproval. The thought, however of taking her with was steadily growing more appealing, "We're in the middle of a war, Sam." The Leviathan were still out there. They still wanted to make the human race their personal snack bar.

Sam shrugged, "She's a good hunter, Dean. I have a feeling she'll be looking for a fight when the worst of the grief is gone."

Dean narrowed his eyes to study her. A chilly breeze was lightly playing with her hair, her back was to them and her arms tightly wrapped around her suddenly small looking frame. Dean wasn't so sure that he could use dislike as a reason to not bring her along.

He knew the woman behind the iron mask. Riley wasn't just a pretty face that could fling sharp and ugly words. She was a hunter with a bright mind and an even stronger will. She was a fighter.

But Riley wasn't herself, she was broken down, that iron will was badly dented and Dean feared that a part of her was a lot like him, which meant she'd bury those feelings of pain and self-loathing by hunting. Grief made you do stupid things and recklessly hunting will get you killed.

Could they leave her like this?

Could _he_ leave her like this?

Dean mentally shook his head and rolled his eyes. It surprised him how easily the answer came to him.

 _No_.

Dean took a deep breath, his eyes steeling with resolve, "The grief will never go away, Sam, she'll just get good at hiding it."


	8. Chapter 8

**New traditions**

The smell of bacon wafting through the bunker's halls awoke the slumbering brothers. Dean and Sam both walked out of their respective rooms, their hair sticking up in all directions, eyes bleary. Dean's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, bacon didn't belong in the bunker when he wasn't in the kitchen.

"You smell that?" His voice was still thick with sleep.

Sam yawned as he pushed his hair back and nodded. For some reason he didn't feel quite as alarmed as he probably should've been. He glanced to the left before he headed in the direction of what he thought to be the kitchen. The walls of the bunker were still new to them, the twisting halls still a little disorientating.

Dean shook his head in an attempt to get rid of the fogginess still clouding his sleep deprived mind, before following after his little brother.

Sam was the first to spot her. She stood in front of the stove, dressed in sweatpants and a too-big red t-shirt. Her dark hair hung in wet ringlets over her shoulders whilst the absence of her usual leather jacket gave him the perfect view of the Latin inscription tattooed on the inside of her lower left arm. He also just barely caught a glimpse of some more ink on her right shoulder.

It was funny having her around again. Riley hadn't really left her newly appointed room since she had moved into the bunker a few days ago. Fate sometimes had a funny way of working when they found each other on a demon hunt again. Riley had been stunned to see Dean after he had disappeared, even more surprised to see Sam in the game again. When everything had gone south and Riley barely made it out of there with her life, and a few choice words from Dean, they had come back to Kansas with her in tow. After Sam had shown her a room, she muttered a hollow ' _Thanks'_ and shut the door, locking herself in.

Dean tilted his head in surprise at the sight of her. He hadn't talked to her since he'd yelled at her after the hunt.

Riley had changed.

He had feared her recklessness after Daniel's death, it had almost gotten her killed. It wasn't just her hunting, her whole personality had shifted a hundred and eighty degrees. She was colder, more closed off. She didn't engage in their witty banter like he had expected. She didn't coddle Sam when he almost got stabbed. It bothered him how different she really was, how much she had allowed herself to change. But then again, his opinions didn't really matter. He was different too, troubled after a year of non-stop killing and fighting in Purgatory.

Sam raised an eyebrow when he realised that she was oblivious to their presence, "What's all this?" He asked. It was strange how she had been a ghost for almost a week and now she was cooking in their kitchen like she had done it a thousand times.

Riley flipped her hair over her shoulder, not at all surprised to see them. She smirked at their sleepy, dishevelled appearances, "This is breakfast."

She lifted the frying pan of bacon off the heated plate and replaced it with a pan of raw eggs. She was efficient to get the bacon into a bowl and into the oven to keep it warm.

"You can cook?" Dean asked in disbelief as he wearily watched her scramble the eggs.

Riley shot him a disgruntled look, "Of course I can cook, Pretty Boy. You honestly think Daniel and I lived out of greasy diners and cheap take-out spots out whole lives?"

Dean looked a little offended. He and Sam had _grown up_ in greasy diners, there was nothing wrong with greasy food. Riley snorted and rolled her eyes when she seemed to read his thoughts before she added some salt to the eggs.

Sam watched them both in amusement while he grabbed the plates, "So what's the occasion?"

Riley didn't answer immediately, instead her movements became more robotic, like she was shutting down. She dropped her chin and let her hair cover her face. Sam narrowed his eyes. There had been a time where she could easily speak her mind, where no one's opinions mattered to her. He knew she was different, he understood why she had changed. It didn't mean he had to like it.

Riley shrugged half-heartedly and continued to stir the eggs, "It's kind of a way of saying thanks. I don't think I would've survived after…" She trailed off.

They all understood the words unsaid: _after Daniel died_.

Riley looked up at Sam, a meaningful glimmer in her eye. It was like she knew it was he who had thought of taking her on the road with them.

Her eyes slowly slid to Dean. He was staring at the ground, his eyebrows slightly furrowed in thought. For a split second Sam wondered if Dean was lost yet again in Purgatory, but he quickly realised that his brother was most probably living through Daniel's death for the hundredth time. They had both been wearing the blame like a shameful scar.

Sam shrugged nonchalantly in response to Riley's somewhat grateful confession. He headed over to the fridge to grab some butter and orange juice, "No need for any thanks, Riles, it's actually been fun having you around, besides, I'm pretty sure we'd be six feet under if it wasn't for you." He smiled and hoped it brought her some form of relief.

His caring gesture only had her thinking of Daniel.

Her throat grew thick with the sudden assault of emotions. She looked away from Sam and busied herself with finishing the eggs. She couldn't believe after a year of grieving, the mere thought of her brother could still bring her to tears.

Sam chose to push her strange reaction aside and took the initiative to make some toast whilst Dean still stood in the doorway, a vague look of confusion painted on his face, like he didn't know what to do next.

Sam let him be, Dean wasn't the best morning person after a hunt.

Riley smirked her infuriating smirk, and pulled the dishtowel from her shoulder, took aim and threw Dean right in the face, "Get the knives and forks, Pretty Boy." She ordered. Sam laughed as Dean stuttered unintelligently in surprise.

He scowled and scooped down to pick up the offending colourful dishtowel, "Don't boss me around." He grumbled like a child. He went to grab the cutlery in the draw anyway.

Riley barked a laugh before she returned to her cooking. Sam watched her watch Dean out of the corner of her eye. Dean lumbered over to the rack where he mechanically picked out the right amount of knives, forks and plates. He was being strangely subdued, Riley mused, and after watching him act like a zombie for five minutes she suddenly understood why that far-away look was still in his eye.

The toaster made a _tinging_ sound and the four slices of toast popped out. Sam pulled the slices from the machine and set them down in a plate just as Riley took the eggs off the stove and scooped them into a bowl.

She reached for the coffee and a mug at the same time. Sam remained observant as she poured a cup before handing it to Dean.

Dean glanced up in surprise, his gaze jumping between Riley's face and the cup of steaming deliciousness suspiciously.

Sam wanted to laugh at the awkward scene. Riley wouldn't meet Dean's questioning eyes and Dean had yet to take the cup from her hand. Sam slowly moved to grab the bacon and eggs, he didn't want to disturb the strange encounter.

"Just take the damn coffee and stop staring at me like I've got two heads." Riley eventually grumbled. Dean blinked and cleared his throat before he tentatively took the mug from his sometimes partner.

"Thanks." He muttered.

Sam bit the inside of his cheek to keep the laughter from bubbling past his lips. Riley and Dean had never really worked through their differences: Dean still held her accountable for messing with his car and Riley still thought he was too arrogant for his own good.

They argued about all the little things when there were no bigger issues to worry about. They're opinions and personalities seemed to clash in all the right and wrong places. It was always amusing to watch them quarrel and call each other names during hunts or when they had been on the road before Dean's disappearance. But as Sam watched them interact now, he knew that the teasing remarks and disgruntled insults hid something much deeper and more meaningful. They had a mutual understanding about most things and even though they disagreed ninety percent of the time, they could work together as if they had done it for years.

Dean took a hesitant sip of his coffee and subtly groaned in delight. Riley hid her victorious smile by shoving all the pans into the sink, she really needed to invest in a dishwasher…

When the table was set, the three hunters sank into their seats, Sam across from Dean and Riley next to him in the corner. Sam pulled out a newspaper and threw it in the middle of the table, "So get this…"

He told them about a possible hunt he had caught wind of in Texas. Riley was interested immediately and Dean easily shifted into hunter mode. Riley listened in silence as the two brothers debated the possibilities of a haunting and Riley eventually pitched her own opinions between bites of crispy bacon and scrambled eggs.

They were all new to the Men of Letters' bunker, and yet it was almost like home. They each had a room where they could find solitude, but the library was there for long nights of research and rounds of cards.

New traditions would be made and Riley would easily click into the Winchesters' routine, much like she had the year before. But all of this would only come with time. In that moment where they were seated around the wooden table in the kitchen debating and stealing strips of bacon, they're weren't thinking of the future or what it would bring.

Riley glanced up at Dean, just at the moment where his eyes lit up with laughter. She quickly pulled her gaze back to Sam where he was frowning disapprovingly at the antics of his brother. She wanted to laugh too, instead she just ducked her head and smiled meekly to herself.

How did she get pulled into this craziness?


	9. Chapter 9

**A Haunted Past**

Riley was in the library, six books in her arms as she rearranged all the mismatched heaps the boys had made over the past few weeks. It had been six months since she had moved in and for once, life was quiet, expect for the boys anxiously waiting to hear from Cas about the newest troubles in Heaven and Hell, but other than that it was quiet.

Sam and Dean had left on a demon hunt four days ago and Riley had stayed behind for obvious reasons. Her hatred towards the kind that killed her brother hadn't reduced and Sam and Dean said she was useless in the field when she got reckless because of her own blind rage.

So instead, Riley stayed behind for reference, whenever the boys needed some info they'd call and Riley would hit the books. The last she'd heard of them was two days ago, when Sam had informed her of their near completion with the case.

Riley hummed an old rock tune that she had heard this morning on the radio as she plucked another book from one of the shelves and replaced it with an old, red leather bound one. She pondered on how her relationships with the boys had grown. She'd managed to recover over the last few months. The presence of the two hunters seemed to ease her urge for a fight. Sam made her feel at home and she strangely found safety in Dean's company.

She and Dean still disagreed most days, but she no longer felt the need to be spiteful and angry. She didn't feel like she needed to hide herself from them.

Dean managed to wake up that part of her again, the part where she was all witty remarks and burning eyes. She swore that there was no other man on this earth that could enrage her quicker than Dean Winchester could. All he had to do was wink or mutter a four letter sentence and they'd be off in a heated debate about the littlest things.

The funny thing was, neither of them really grew tired of it.

Sam was another story. Where Dean caused her blood to boil and made her want to spit fire, Sam was all soft smiles and warm laughs that relaxed her soul. Riley adored his shaggy hair on those nights when she had been staring at Latin words for hours and needed a break. He would obediently sit and let her braid his hair any way she wanted to.

Riley loved sitting in Sam's room and listening to him babble about whatever new book he would find in the Men of Letters' archives. He was smarter than the average Joe and Riley had once wondered what he would've done had he not been a hunter. She had asked him about it and in return she had learned of Jess.

It was the first time Riley had truly caught a glimpse of Sam's nightmares, of the darkness that sometimes still swam around in his head.

She never really mentioned college after that, and had chosen to stick to other past stories instead, such as his days looking for his father with Dean. She learned of the youngest Winchester's struggles with demon blood and of his poisonous relationships. Riley would've never guessed that this bright, intelligent man could have such a dark and twisted history.

Sam had made a lot of mistakes in his life but he had managed to make up for it by saving other people, and protecting those who couldn't protect themselves. Riley admired Sam for his strength and dedication to the job. Sometimes she would look at him and be washed in warmth, a feeling that reminded her of _family_ , of Daniel.

Sam was a good man with a good heart and Riley understood sometimes hard decisions had to be made. Maybe that's why they became such good friends so quickly.

Riley bit down on her lip when her phone suddenly started blaring _Back in Black_ , it was Dean's ringtone.

Sighing in defeat she balanced three books on her head and quickly put the phone to her ear. She shifted her head and the books fell back into her arms, "What do you need?" She asked casually. Dean only ever called when he needed some answers for whatever questions he had about the supernatural.

"Well, well, Riley, is that how you answer a phone? I could have sworn your mother raised you better than that."

Riley dropped the books in her arms.

Her entire body froze and she stared in front of her with wide eyes.

She fucking _knew_ that voice.

"Talon." She breathed, feeling like someone had just stolen the air from her lungs.

A cold, mirthless chuckle resonated from the other end of the line, "You remember! I'm honoured."

Cold fear gripped her entire being. Riley swayed on the spot and she turned to the nearest table for support. How the hell had he found her? Why the hell _now_?

Her fear seemed to shrink when she remembered the ringtone. Riley quickly pulled the phone away from her ear. The caller I.D. read 'Dean'in big bold letters.

Swallowing thickly she pressed the device back to her ear, "Where is he?" She snarled. Her voice was strong in contrast to the shaking of her hands.

She could imagine Talon's wicked smirk.

"Oh, he's around."

Riley's teeth ground together and she pulled herself upright. Familiar rage engulfed her body. They had been dancing to this same tune since they were fourteen.

"Don't play games with me, you leech, where is he?" She demanded again, drawing strength from the thought of a friend in danger.

Talon's playfulness seemed to evaporate at the sound of the old insult, "I like playing games, Riley, and since I'm the one with all the money in the bank, you'll have to play with my rules." He snarled.

Riley felt a familiar shiver run down her spine. She shouldn't forget that he had a whole family of monsters backing his threat. Feeling the need to scream Riley suppressed the urge by biting down on her lip.

"Oh, should I mention that I've got the shaggy haired one too?" Talon said innocently. Riley's heart stuttered a little.

 _No_.

Riley couldn't stop her breath from catching in her throat. She instantly berated the soft noise for escaping through her lips.

Talon laughed and it snapped Riley out of her stunned state. Her hand went to her back to feel the familiar coolness of her gun tucked in her jeans. She instantly sprang into action.

"The Winchesters," Talon continued as Riley raced to her room, she couldn't hang up on him, not if she wanted to know where the asshole was.

"Very poetic if I do say so myself, tell me Riley, they are very handsome young men, do one of them prickle your fancy?"

Riley rolled her eyes at his attempt to goad a reaction out of her.

"Sorry, Talon, the gossip column has been shut down for quite a while." She said sarcastically as she ripped open her closet door and grabbed her duffel bag. Thank god, she had restocked just last week.

Talon snorted, "How boring of you." He sighed and Riley was slowly growing agitated as she plucked her keys from the kitchen table and headed for the garage.

"Would you cut the crap already and just tell me what the hell you want?" She asked with another roll of her eyes. Riley suddenly remembered why he had been such a pain in the ass back when they were kids.

Talon's voice was casual and smooth when he answered her, "Oh, you know, the usual. Fame and glory, maybe a big house in the Caribbean…" His voice suddenly lowered into a menacing growl, "Your blood dripping off my blade as you bleed out at my feet."

Riley's heart thudded wildly in her chest and the scar on her left arm suddenly stung.

"Sorry, Talon, I'm no miracle worker." She chirped back in an attempt to hide the fear that suddenly wrapped around her throat.

Talon's next words made her stumble.

"For your sake, I hope you are, Reagan. If I can't have the satisfaction of killing you maybe toying around with your little friends will do until I find you."

Riley clenched her jaw and got onto the bike she had just finished fixing up. She strapped her duffel to her back and kick started the engine with practised ease.

"Where?" She growled as she sped out of the garage, her balanced body smoothly turning onto the road. She needed to find him, she needed to end this damn game they had been playing since the murder of her parents. She needed to save Sam and Dean.

Talon sighed in disappointment, "Oh, Riley, I thought we've already established my love for games. Let's play one little round of hide and seek." He hissed.

Riley wanted to scream in frustration, her blood pounded in her ears as she opened her mouth to tell him to fuck off, but a familiar cry of pain echoed from the background over the phone.

 _Dean._

Riley almost lost her balance and fell face first into the tarmac.

She pulled the bike to a jerking stop on the side of the road. Fear blossomed in her stomach again.

"I swear to God, Talon, if you so much as hurt a hair on his head I'll tear you to pieces quicker than you can count to ten." She snarled, a renewed vigour pumping through her veins.

The pained scream echoed again and Riley winced. Talon's tone was low as he mocked her, "Better hurry up then, Reagan, or reaching ten might just be easy."

The phone went dead and Riley stared at it with wide eyes. This was insane. Her breathing quickened and panic welled up in her stomach. She knew Talon, knew how crazy he was when it came to revenge, when it came to this _war_.

What was he doing to Dean? To Sam? Talon would torture them to such extent that they might not even be alive when she finally found them. Tears welled up in her eyes at the thought of finding their lifeless bodies in pools of their own blood.

The Winchesters had each managed to worm themselves into her life and it would crush her to lose them now. Swallowing the lump in her throat and viciously wiping at her eyes she took a deep breath.

Breaking down in the middle of nowhere wouldn't help them. She needed to find Talon. Finding Talon would lead her to the boys.

Riley shook her head and stuffed her phone into her pocket before she got off the bike to pluck a helmet out of the seat compartment. She jammed it on her head, threw her leg back over the bike and gunned the engine. The bike reached high speeds quickly as Riley zoomed in the direction of Louisiana.

* * *

 **A/N: Review? ;)**


	10. Chapter 10

**The Reagans**

Riley bit her lip as she hid in the tree. The house was old, maybe dating back to the early eighteen-hundreds; it was also the house where Talon's family had once stayed. The windows were all shattered and broken glass was still scattered around the premises.

She shouldn't have been so surprised when she'd managed to track Dean's phone and it led her here.

After all: this was where it all began. This was where the family feud had begun decades ago. She and Daniel had only ever really heard stories about the old mansion, stories about the first attack in 1869 and the most recent one to Riley's own history back in 1967. It shouldn't catch her off guard; this was probably where it will all come to a gruesome end.

Riley took a deep breath to calm her racing pulse. Sam and Dean had to be in there, somewhere.

Riley properly shrugged into her leather jacket and quickly checked the various silver weapons on her person.

 _Guess I owe grandpa that football for proving me wrong._ She thought as she stealthy dropped down to the ground. Her grandfather had once told her that the feud would end with her, she'd laughed in his face and told him she wasn't going near those leeches ever again. It was weird how old people always just seemed to know everything.

Her booted feet were silent as she raced over the large yard and slipped into the broken kitchen window. Decades-old blood was still smeared across the wooden floors and Riley shivered at the thought of her family dying here. She bit her lip as she creeped to the door.

 _ **She had been raised in small town, Louisiana. She'd lived in a big house with her twin brother and two loving parents, Anita and Eddy Reagan. Their parents would often travel and would sometimes stay gone for a month or more, hunting non-stop, killing as far and wide as they could. During these times, Daniel and Riley had been left in the care of their rambunctious grandparents. Grandpa Dan was always eager to tell a scary story before bed. Riley and Daniel would shriek when their grandmother would suddenly scream to add affect to the spooky tales. Such a night would often end with a round of giggles and delighted squeals.**_

 _ **They were loved.**_

 _ **Their childhood had been as normal as their parents could make it. For a long time vampires and ghouls only lived in the stories they were told before bed. But innocence is but a mirage, and brother and sister had been forced to see beyond their imaginary friends and colourful toys.**_

 _ **It had been a dark night of tears and cries of disbelief, but hunting the supernatural had been running in the family for generations. After the initial shock and frequent fear, Riley and Daniel started to train. They learned how to handle shotguns and knives, they learned how to kill a ghost and how to decapitate a vampire. Daniel was quick with the trigger and Riley had a certain affinity for throwing daggers. They're parents needn't worry, they're children were glorious hunters in the making.**_

Riley pressed her back against the wall as two men walked past the kitchen, their feet heavy. Riley wasn't a religious woman, but she found herself praying that she wouldn't be exposed. Her chest deflated in relief when the footsteps faded farther down the hall. Riley stayed low as she snuck further into the house, her logic sternly commanding her to not waste any time downstairs. _Talon wouldn't make this easy for you,_ its saying _._ Riley pursed her lips before she slowly walked up the stairs, her feet feeling like lead. She balled her hands into fists when she found them shaking.

 _ **Daniel and Riley only truly understood the extent of their family's roots in the supernatural world when they were kidnapped at fourteen. They had never seen a shapeshifter before, never experienced the silver eyes or shedding skin. Their parents had hardly told them about the**_ _ **Alpheus**_ _ **family, an old Latin name meaning**_ _change_ **.** _ **In all fairness Anita and Eddy didn't**_ _want_ _**to drag their only two children into a war between human and monster.**_

Riley crawled to the first door and pressed her ear up against the rotten wood. Low voices drifted from within, words were incoherent and Riley shook her head, she knew Sam and Dean well enough to know the voices didn't belong.

Moonlight danced across the halls through the windows. Riley stuck to the shadows it created. She paused in one of the quiet hallways, the entire mansion was crawling with shapeshifters, at least thirty of them. Riley wanted to scoff, who knew Talon had been making friends during the years he had gone underground?

Riley finally decided that the boys wouldn't be on this level either and she quickly started searching for a way into the roof. She found a door in a corner of a main bedroom. Riley tugged on the string to drop down a small ladder that would take her into the attic. Riley was quick to scamper up the rotten wood.

 _ **Riley would be the first person to say that she and her brother were two of the luckiest hunters, ever. They hadn't grown up on the road like the Winchesters, living out of cheap motel rooms and barely celebrating holidays. They went to school ninety percent of the time and made friendships that lasted a lifetime.**_

 _ **Even though they were lucky, the life of a hunter still had no room for mercy. Riley and Daniel had gone off on their first hunt alone at sixteen, an easy salt and burn in upstate Chicago. The thrill of the hunt had them letting loose and going home later than what was planned.**_

 _ **Their irresponsibility had cost them everything.**_

 _ **Walking into a darkened home wasn't what set their adrenaline pumping or caused the hairs on the backs of their necks to rise. It was the smell of burnt meat wafting through the air. Anita Reagan wasn't one to burn her food.**_

 _ **They found them in the back yard, strapped to two posts like witches back in the dark ages. Talon was the one to slit their throats in retribution for his own family's demise. The sight of their dead parents had cracked every wall of safety they had been fooled into having. It had been pure luck that Daniel had had silver bullets in his gun. They had gotten away with several broken bones and scars that would never truly heal.**_

Riley breathed a sigh of relief when she found Sam tied to a chair. His eyes were wide and starring at her in disbelief, "Riley?" He asked. His voice cracked and Riley wondered how long he had been up here without any proper nutrients. Riley rushed to his side and pulled her knife from her boot, "Thank God you're okay." She said with a smile as she cut away at the ropes binding him to the chair.

Sam watched as the blade sliced through the rope like bread, "How did you find us?" He breathed, bewilderment colouring his tone. Riley didn't answer right away as she was too busy, she paused suddenly when a thought struck her. She wanted to shoot herself for her recklessness. _God, I'm an idiot_ , she thought as she slowly rose and took a step back.

Sam looked at her in confusion, "What?" He asked, his eyes were wide and bloodshot. Riley was really hoping it was him, she just wanted to wrap her arms around his neck and tell him he was going to be okay.

Riley narrowed her eyes and scanned the room for any hostiles before they narrowed in on Sam's face. He had a black eye, but no blood covered the rest of him. Riley plucked a silver dagger from her back satchel and made a quick slit on his exposed flesh.

"Ow! What was that for?" Sam demanded as he watched her sigh in relief, "House full of shifters." she muttered, as explanation, before she continued to free him. Sam blinked in confusion and started untying his leg after she had freed his arms, "Shifters? What are you talking about? How did you find us?" He asked again.

Riley didn't look up at him, "You know my family history?" Sam nodded tentatively. He only knew the few scant details his dad had once told him about. Whenever he had brought up her family, Riley would quickly change the subject.

"Yeah, it's about that." Sam's eyes widened, "Are you telling me that we just got kidnapped because of the supernatural version of the Montagues and the Capulets?"

Riley nodded and she stood to support him when he stumbled, "Listen Sam, I'll tell you everything later. Right now, we need to find Dean and get the hell away from here."

Sam looked like he wanted to object, but the thought of his brother quickly made him change his mind, "I haven't seen Dean since they dragged him out of here a day ago. I've heard him scream though; I think they've been torturing him." Sam wasn't usually one to get emotional on these hunts, but the fear of losing his brother again had him shaking.

Riley swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded, "You think you can walk?" She asked quietly. She couldn't support him _and_ Dean at the same time.

 _ **Moving in with their aunt and uncle across the country hadn't been so bad. Riley and Daniel easily got along with their cousins, it helped that they were hunters too. Aunt Madeline had gone on a rampage after hearing what had happened to her little sister and the twins didn't really see their new guardians for the first five weeks. Tristan swore that they would track Talon down and make sure he didn't hurt anybody ever again.**_

"So we were bait?"Sam questioned as they snuck back downstairs. They were still looking for Dean, and the ground floor hadn't been searched yet.

Riley gestured for him to be quiet and absentmindedly nodded her head.

 _ **They encountered Talon again when they had just finished college. Except this time Riley hadn't been there and Daniel had witnessed everything. He had dropped his life as a promising engineer in Malibu and instantly went to his sister. They trained for years, had hunted with their families, but only after the slaughter of their aunt and uncle, did they truly become bloodthirsty Hunters.**_

Riley wrapped her arm around Dean to try and support him. He was covered in blood and her skin crawled where his bloodied hands were gripping her shoulders.

She had done this.

 _This is your fault_.

Talon would've never gone after the Winchesters if she hadn't known them.

Sam was sturdier as he held onto his brother from the other side. His hair was a complete mess and Riley could only now see in the moonlight how badly bruised his face really was.

They just made the foyer when the lights flickered on. The room was painted in its weak yellow glow. Riley cursed under her breath and pulled her gun from its holder on her thigh. She lightly slipped away from Dean and shot the first thing that moved. A body dropped from the rafters, but it wasn't Talon. Riley watched with wide eyes as eight men and woman suddenly surrounded them from all directions in the large and run down foyer. She took a deep breath and moved so she could stand in front of the boys, her gun loaded and ready.

They all advanced at the same time.

Riley shot out all of her bullets before her gun was knocked from her hands and flew into another room. More monsters seemed to appear from nowhere and it wasn't long before they were overwhelmed and overpowered. Dean was weak from blood loss. All they needed to do was get a good grip on him, put a knife to his throat and they'd have Sam surrendering.

Riley wasn't one to give up and she lunged at the shifter who had grabbed Dean. The monster easily deflected her attack. Riley sprung out of the way. She paused to realise she was surrounded and blood dripping from her chin. She was furious and scared at the same time as she wiped the blood with her sleeve.

Cold, amused laughter suddenly bellowed around the foyer. Riley's intense concentration dropped and two goons used it to their advantage. They each grabbed one arm.

She was pinned down.

Riley swallowed the lump of fear in her throat as she struggled against the monsters' grip. She watched with growing hatred as Talon descended the stairs like some kinglike figure. She recognised him, and it shook her to the core. She'd expected him to change his face after ten years, but his eyes were still a smouldering grey, his hair still black. His features of a strong jaw line and high cheekbones were still familiar. The only real differences to his appearance were the broad shoulders and low ponytail.

Talon's eyes glimmered as he walked over to cup her chin. He smirked, "When will you learn that you will always lose?" He asked with a mocking shake of his head.

Riley hissed and ripped her face from his fingers. She looked up at him, he was still a good foot taller than her. "You're such a hypocrite. What? You finally have enough scum stuck to your shoe to do your dirty work?" She snarled as she gestured to the shifters crowding the room.

Talon's victorious attitude didn't waver and he bent down to her height. He was patronizing her and Riley felt the anger coil like a snake in her stomach, "Finally done running, Reagan?" He asked with equal spite.

 _ **Tracking down Talon hadn't been an easy feat. He was good at hiding, after all, not even the great Reagans had found him after he was orphaned as a teenager. There had been no battle for retribution, no bloodshed, but there had been a lot of death threats and**_ _**promises to return. Riley hadn't wanted to fight, she wanted to know why the boy who had saved her life as a child had decided to stick a knife in her back.**_

 _ **It had sickened her to her very core. When they had been kidnapped as children by his family, Talon had removed the barbed wire that had been cutting into her skin and holding her hostage. Talon had been the one to set her free.**_

 _ **Her mistake was to believe in the best of him. It had been a cat and mouse game ever since.**_

Riley clenched her jaw and with a childlike huff she drew back and spit in Talon's face, "I'm not dead yet, asshole." She snarled.

Talon scowled as he wiped the saliva from his face and took a step away from her. Riley could almost feel the ruthlessness that settled into his expression. The look in his eye alone had a shiver running down her spine.

"Maybe, but you soon will be." His gaze left hers and met that of his shapeshifter friends, "Move them to the living room." He ordered.

Riley caught a glimpse of Sam trying to fight the men from shoving him further into the house. She herself struggled against the inhuman strength of the arms dragging her forward.

They were forced into a large living room, the furniture torn and the windows big enough for moonlight to cloak every darkened corner. Riley's eyes adjusted and her heart beat picked up at the sight of Talon approaching Sam and Dean.

"You know, Reagan, I'm quite impressed by how far you managed to get without me knowing of your presence. Years of being a dirty thief has obviously treated you well."

Riley scoffed and tried again to rip her arms from the shifters' grip.

Talon turned his attention to Sam, his voice dropping as he spoke, "I find it curious how long it took her to actually get here. Her punishment will be to watch you die."

Before Riley could blink, a dagger was in Talon's hand, slicing the younger Winchester across his face. A sharp hiss escaped Sam's lips, his eyes tightening against the sting of the blade.

"Sam!" Dean's growing agitation and vigour bubbled over despite the injuries inflicted to his body. He struggled against the men holding him back, his eyes set aflame with anger.

"You son of a bitch." He snarled.

Talon ignored the brothers and shrugged out of his tailor made jacket, handing it to one of the shapeshifters. The dagger in his hand looked even more malicious when he put it under Dean's jugular.

Riley couldn't contain the panic. Her entire body was shaking with fear, fear for them, fear for what Talon would do to them.

"Stop! Talon, let them go, you have me. They have no part in this!" Riley exclaimed and her body jerked violently against her bonds.

The obvious distress in her voice had Talon turning around. His eyebrows were creased as he stared at her.

Riley's nerves were shot, her heart was racing, feeling as if it just might burst from her chest. There was an uncomfortable lump in her throat that she just couldn't swallow and it felt like she _just couldn't_ breathe.

Talon's surprised gaze, suddenly turned pensive at the sight of her ashen face. Silver orbs jumped from her to Sam and Dean.

Talon took an experimental swipe at Dean's face. Dean's head whipped back with force and blood was suddenly streaming from his nose. Talon's gaze however wasn't on him.

Riley visibly flinched and the feral grin on Talon's face settled a heavy weight on her chest. She shook her head against the onslaught of her panic. The traitorous word slipping past her lips before she could think,

" _Please."_

Talon had the fucking nerve to _laugh._

"The great Riley Reagan begging?" His wicked laughter seemed to wrap her in a blanket of ice, "And for what? Two no good hunters who can't even save the people close to them?"

Riley's eyes flashed, but she stayed quiet, trying to undo the damage she had just done.

Talon shook his head in amusement. He walked over to her and watched her closely, "Tell me, why is it that they're so important?" Riley didn't answer him. She looked to the ground. Her mind racing, she needed to pull herself together, needed to find a way out of this.

"Do they feel like home to you… like family?" He asked quietly. Riley's gaze lifted, her eyes steely, unflinching.

Talon knew that look and the smirk that lifted his lips made her snarl.

"I promised to destroy every family you have left all those years ago. Lucky for me, fate already took care of Daniel."

The mention of her brother's name had her snapping and she surged forward to slam her forehead into his nose.

Talon stumbled back as her guards restrained her.

" _Shit._ " Talon hissed before he broke his nose back into place.

The rage and hatred had returned full force and Riley was thankful for the heat crawling back into her cheeks,

"You don't get to mention them, _any of them_. You deserve to burn in hell and the second I get out of here I sure am going to enjoy escorting you down, you _leech_!" She spat with all the venom of the most poisonous snake.

Talon's smirk reminded her of this one picture she had once seen when she'd been researching with the brothers late into the night. It had been a collage of various monstrosities and Riley remembered thinking that this had to be the perfect portrayal of the literal Hell.

"I see it now. That fire your mother had, cold eyes like your father. I don't know how you plan on beating me this time, Reagan, but I sure as hell am going to enjoy watching you try."

Riley ground her teeth together. He was right, how the hell was she going to get out of this mess? Two superhuman _goons_ plus a tortured Sam and Dean at Talon's mercy was the perfect recipe for being _screwed._

She glanced at the Winchesters who were watching the whole ordeal with wide eyes.

Her first priority was keeping them save.

"Fine," She conceded, "We'll have a whole hoo-ha-ha and you can mock and tease for as long as your dark little heart desires before you kill me… me, not them, me. So, there's really no point of keeping them here, Talon. Let them go."

Talon made a big show of actually considering her words. His head tilted from side to side and he studied the Winchesters. He pulled a face and finally shook his head, "I don't think I want to do that, Reagan. You see these two hunters mean a lot to you. They're _leverage_. By hurting them, I hurt you on a much deeper level than mere physical pain. I see now that they can be used for a hell of a lot more than just bait."

There was a certain sick joy in his voice.

Riley felt a pit form in her stomach and she looked to Dean, her bravado was rapidly losing ground. The blood coating his face caused vibrant green eyes to stand out and stare, like a mirror shadowing her emotions.

"I find it quite ironic, really."

Talon's faraway voice snapped the two partners from their meaningful glance and Riley's head whipped back to focus on what this lunatic had burning in his brain now.

"I mean, it's the _fucking Winchesters_." Talon blew out a breath, as if that small fact blew his mind and Riley hated the playfulness shining in his eyes, "Every monster on this earth knows about you two, all guns blazing, apocalypse stopping, the whole shebang." He paused, his awe filled grin was unnerving and Riley shifted uncomfortably.

"But I have a theory." He was suddenly extremely serious as he slowly walked back over to Dean.

"Do you want to hear all the gory details, Mr. Winchester?" Talon asked Dean gleefully.

Riley watched with narrowed eyes as both brothers shared a look of disgusted disbelief. Dean's eyes were hard as ice when he answered, "We couldn't be able to work up enough fucks to actually give about your theory." Dean snorted and shook his head, "Not that we'd want to either."

Talon frowned, "That was quite rude." He glanced at Riley and shot her a wicked grin, like he knew some big secret she didn't, "Obviously I shouldn't be surprise, I mean, what's a boy to do when his mummy burned on the nursery ceiling?"

Riley's eyes widened and both Dean and Sam grew rigid. Dean slowly turned his head to Talon. His face clouded with the past shadows of Hell.

Riley had to admit that the look scared her a little.

She felt nauseous all over again. Just as Dean opened his mouth to hurl the crudest words he knew, Riley interrupted him, "Dean, don't!" She snapped.

 _Don't urge him on._ Was what she didn't add, and hoped he saw it on her face.

Dean's dark gaze shot to her. He blew out a heated breath of anger, but didn't utter a word.

Somewhere away from all the darkness swirling in her head, Riley was a little surprised. Dean hardly ever listened to her, more often than not, he would do the exact _opposite_ of what she told him just to irritate the crap out of her.

Talon frowned, disappointed he didn't get a rise out of Dean.

The look was gone as he pulled on the playful mask again. Riley watched him closely, trying to figure out what game he was playing now.

"Right, now where was I? Oh yes, my theory…" Silver orbs turned to her and she had a feeling that whatever was about to happen next would hurt like a broken bone.

Talon turned his mirthful gaze back to the brothers, "Rumour has it that nobody survives when they're around you two."

Sam and Dean's jaws locked in unison and the pit in Riley's stomach grew ten times in size.

"I understand all the Hell you've been put through, literally! But seriously? Don't you think you're being a little extreme?" Talon walked around the room like he was preaching a class of high schoolers.

"I mean anybody who's ever gotten within a ten feet radius for a certain amount of time, dies! How pathetic can two men be in protecting the people they love?"

Riley was hardly paying attention to what Talon was saying. Her worried gaze varied between staying on Sam and Dean. Sam's eyes were slightly downcast in fury. Dean's jaw was so tight, she feared that he might crack a tooth.

They looked like they were ready to burst at any second.

The truth behind Talon's words caused more pain than a physical blow would have. He was using their guilt and insecurities to hit as low as possible.

"I mean, first it starts with mommy Mary. I guess you're dad didn't have enough smoke alarms in the house, huh?" Talon snorted at his own joke. His eyes dancing as he was in his element.

Dean's gaze jumped to Riley.

Talon mercilessly continued, "Then there was big strong Daddy Winchester who sold his soul, I mean really Dean, do you always leave your messes for your dad to clean up?"

Dean physically _flinched_.

 _A game, he's playing a game._ She thought with sudden clarity.

Talon lifted his hand to his chin, "There was another hunter if I remember correctly. What was his name again?" He paused to add effect before suddenly clicking his fingers and beaming, "Bobby Singer. As far as I know he raised you two when Daddy was out and about," Talon pouted, "And what did he get in return?" Talon's dramatics fell away as he strutted over to Riley. He was deadpan, "A bullet to the brain, by a Leviathan no less." Talon snorted.

Riley scowled and something inside her roared.

She had known Bobby Singer, had met him only once. Ironically he had saved her life when she and Daniel had trespassed into a werewolf case he was working on. His initials had been tattooed onto her back, right over a scar of three claw marks, to commemorate the fact that he had given her another day of life.

"Shut up." Dean finally snarled.

Talon tutted like he was hushing a disobedient child, "I'm not done yet. There were so many of them, the Roadhouse owners and the psychic is me only naming a few."

"How do you know all this?" Sam growled. Riley had never heard him so angry before.

Talon's smirk returned, "Oh, you know. Spirits have ears and all." Dean was quaking, Riley didn't expect his sudden movement.

The oldest Winchester lunged at Talon, his eyes wild with murderous intent. The shapeshifting monsters were so stunned by the strength he still had left that they almost lost him.

Riley wasn't watching the scene. Her attention was solely focused on Talon.

 _A game. He's playing a game, but why?_

There was something about his expression… _He had expected one of them to snap._ With sudden clarity Riley knew exactly what game he was playing.

Her legs turned to jelly at the remembrance of their last dance to this specific tango. At least fifteen people had died that night because of one stupid little slip up.

Talon was goading them, he wanted them to break free, he _wanted_ them to come at him with all their blind rage, just so he could have them slaughtered. So he could enjoy watching her wither.

Riley quivered so hard her teeth clacked together. She took a deep breath and tried to swallow the bile rising up her throat, she remembered the blood, she remembered the guilt that came with that night. Her jaw clenched tightly together and she looked up with determination, she needed to push back whatever fear she had. She needed to stop Talon, before Sam snapped.

"Would you stop revisiting past mistakes already?" She asked with exasperation, her performance easily masking her true feelings, "What's your point in all this? _To make us angry?_ Cause let me tell you something, leech, I think you managed to piss them off when you snatched them up from their hunt." Riley was as calm as she could be and talked like she was discussing plans for a movie night.

Talon's eyes mirrored the heart of a storm as he glared at her. The boys had caught the message loud and clear when their postures suddenly grew lax and Talon knew it too.

A surge of confidence had Riley smirking in the face of danger. _You're not the only one who can play games, Talon._

Talon growled lowly and slowly walked back over to Dean. He gripped the Hunter's hair and twisted to expose the tender flesh of his neck, the dagger was back.

Riley grit her teeth when he continued, "The fact of the matter is, you've both caused so much death and now karma will strike like the bitch she truly is. When you die tonight, it will be because of _her_."

Talon turned to point the tip of the dagger at Riley, his face screwed up in an ugly expression. Riley narrowed her eyes defiantly. She wasn't going to let him get to her again.

Talon suddenly let go of Dean's hair and smirked, "Of course that is _after_ she losses the _bellum_."

Riley recognised the Latin word. _Battle._

Riley's eyes widened and a surge of hope caused the corners of her lips to quirk into a little smirk, "You're going to fight me, Talon? After what happened last time?"

 _ **Her body ached everywhere, there was a trickle of blood flowing down from her hairline, but she was standing. Daniel's chest was heaving as he cautiously walked around Talon's crouched body. The monster wouldn't move, the gun in his sister's hand held him in place.**_

Talon's confident gaze settled on her, "Our last fight was a little… _unfair_ , but now that Daniel's dead," He grinned as his gaze swept over her small frame, "Well, I'm not worried."

The insult just pushed her competitive side to whole new level.

Riley's eyes flashed as they sized one another up. The air crackled with a sudden tension and Talon shook his head and he took an uneasy step back. Riley felt the dog tag hanging around her neck grow warm. Her eyes glanced down at the piece of metal before they jumped to Talon in slight disbelief. She blew out a breath.

"You want to fight, Talon? What are the terms?" She lifted her chin and squared her shoulders.

She had a plan. She would fight and get Sam and Dean out of here alive.

"Riley." Sam breathed, "You can't seriously be thinking about this?"

Riley didn't pay him any mind and she most certainly didn't break her determined glare.

Talon watched her curiously, "I win and they die. And this war is over with my family crest on the trophy."

Riley grit her teeth at the stakes. The whole point of this war was over a stupid piece of jewellery.

 _ **The mythical gem in a golden family crown held the power to reach people in the Otherworld. It had the power to control and speak to the dead.**_

 _ **Three hundred years ago the crown had been worn by a powerful witch who had to guide the spirits of the dead to peace, to prevent the inevitable darkening of their soul. The crown had been stolen by a man, whose son's ghost had haunted him from dusk to dawn.**_

 _ **The war had started when Alaric Alpheus stole the crown from Clarissa Reagan, the crown's keeper…**_

"Very well, but _I_ win, and we walk out of here alive."

Talon narrowed his eyes and he glanced around to all the men and woman he had pulled into his crusade over the years.

"You know as well as I do that that isn't my call to make. You're hunters, Reagan and three less monster killers would make the world for them a safer place." Talon explained slowly, his body already going on the defence.

Riley raised an eyebrow, "What? I thought they listened to you. _Order them,_ Talon. Those are my terms and as you said: 'rules and whatnot'."

Talon glanced around the room before they landed on her again. He could tell she wasn't going to back down from this, what with her blue eyes burning a hole through his forehead.

He glanced at Sam and Dean, before he huffed in slight indignation and called Mark, his right hand man, to his side.

Riley watched as Talon and one of the shifters had a quick and heated discussion, before the unknown man simply nodded his head and went to stand on the other side of the room, two other monsters following him.

"Very well, the orders have been given. Release her, but be warned, Riley, you will not win this fight." He said and the arms gripping her fell away.

Riley had barely heard him, the thought of Daniel suddenly invaded her mind, a promise they had made years ago when they started on their little crusade. They had always promised to live for each other. They had promised to not waste away if one of them died on the job. He had been dead for almost 2 years now, but Riley wasn't planning to break that promise.

Riley took a deep, steading breath before she walked over to where Sam and Dean were in a whispered conversation.

"When you're done." She huffed as she waved away the four men holding the brothers captive. The shifters only took one big step back.

Riley pulled a knife from her boot and handed it to Sam so he could cut them free.

"Okay, what's the plan?" Dean asked softly. Riley pursed her lips and briefly looked at him as she pulled two other blades from behind her jacket.

"The plan… is that I fight him and we walk out of here like any other hunt." She said nonchalantly.

Dean's hands were released and he was quick to take hold of the jacket she shoved into his arms, "Are you trying to get yourself killed?" He growled.

Her eyes were hard when they settled on him, "I'm trying to get us out of here without having to drag one or both of you out in a body bag, Dean." She snapped back.

Dean's usual warm and vibrant eyes were stormy as his hands suddenly gripped her shoulders, "I don't know if you've noticed, Sunshine, but this son of a bitch is a lot stronger than you are. I've fought him before and as you can see, I lost. What are your chances?"

Riley's eyebrows furrowed as she detected a note of desperation in his voice. Why was he so worried about her anyway?

The thought was swept away when her dog tag grew warm again. Riley reached up to wrap her hand around it and it suddenly grew freezing cold. She sucked in sharp breath as her suspicions over the past nineteen months were confirmed.

Dean's gaze zeroed in on the dog tag Riley was suddenly gripping like her life depended on it. It was the same dog tag she had removed from Daniel's neck the day they had burned his body, his name was still vividly engraved into the silver plate. Dean's eyes widened, "You aren't seriously willing to die for your already dead brother, are you?" The words slipped without his consent.

Riley's own voice was hard as she stared at the ground, "Daniel's always been my rock, my strength. I'm counting on that today." Dean's grip tightened on her body, "Daniel's dead, Riley." He breathed, his eyes shining with a little bit of sadness and a lot of fear, fear for whatever was running through her crazy head.

Riley's smile was bittersweet, "Nobody knows that better than I do, Dean."

They stared at each other. Not for the first time, they communicated on a much higher level than just words. Riley needed Dean to understand that she had to do this, not just to save them, but to end this war. She still had family she had promised to protect, she had little nieces and nephews and she would be damned before either one of them suffer through the same hell as she did when she was a kid.

Dean's heart was racing suddenly and he knew why too: she was going to do this whether he begged her or not, she was going to dance with the devil one last time.

The lump in his throat was unexpected, the shiver of fear down his spine confusing. The last time he had felt such fear towards someone's possible death was when Sammy had gone to hell.

Dean swallowed and nodded before he slowly let her go, his hand unconsciously tracing the length of her bare arms. His fingers were rough over her tattooed shoulder and arm, the markings of an intricate tiger glimmering in the moonlight. He took a step back when he felt Sam's intense gaze on his face. Dean dragged a hand down over his mouth and nodded, "Fine, what's plan B?"

Riley swallowed her own emotions and ignored the goose bumps on her flesh as she crouched down to remove all the weapons she had brought along. There was surprisingly a lot, "Where the hell do you have space for all this stuff?" Dean muttered in slight awe as she pulled out three magazines and dropped them in the pile on the floor.

Her infuriating smirk was back, "It's a girl's trade secret." She winked before she looked back down to the weapons of silver on the floor.

She had purposefully ignored Dean's question, they both knew there was no plan B, either she won, or they all died.

Her fingers trailed over the four daggers she had brought and picked up the biggest one, a thirteen inch blade her cousin had gotten her for her nineteenth birthday _. A ticket to an extra day on earth_ , he had called it.

"Riley," Sam spoke for the first time. Riley looked up into distraught multi-coloured eyes. That lump was back in her throat as she smiled, "I'll be fine, Sam. It has to be me." Because she knew he wanted so badly to take her place. At least he matched Talon in size.

Sam's jaw clenched in a way that told her he was about to argue, "Why?" The question surprised her and she looked away as she slowly rose back to her full height.

She sighed, "Because, that's how it's always been. Since we were little kids, it was always the two of us." She explained softly.

He was now even more confused than before. Riley tapped him on his chest, "Don't worry, Sam, I'll explain everything later, but right now, I need you behind me. No one interferes," She pointed down to the slight armoury, "no one touches one of those until the fight is over."

Sam and Dean's jaws clenched in unison, their eyes set ablaze. She had a feeling they weren't listening to her. Rolling her eyes and stuffing the blade into her boot she gripped both of their chins and dragged their wide eyes to her level, "I'm serious, Winchester." She snarled as she looked both of them in the eye, "This is more than just the two of you." She let go and retrieved her weapon.

She turned for the first time to see Talon on the other side of the room. He had shed his fancy shirt and shoes and was left in a pair of jeans, a tight fitting tank and boots. His hair still pulled back into a pony in the nape of his neck. He cracked his neck and smiled wickedly at her.

Riley glared at him as she slowly cleared her mind of everything but the battle that she needed to fight, "Sam, you're my guard. Dean, you're my safe, watch my stuff." She muttered before she moved forward.

Sam and Dean shared a look of resolution before they turned to watch Riley enter the lion's den, Dean's worried gaze burning into her back.

The large living room had already been cleared out, the destroyed furniture pushed into the far corner to leave a bare room, a battleground.

Riley stood tall when Talon stopped a mere fifteen feet from her, her face a stone, her stinging gaze the only indication of her burning hatred and fierceness.

"Are you ready to die, Riley?" Talon asked, his arms spread wide, his own nasty looking dagger sparkling in the natural light.

Riley narrowed her eyes as they swept over his form. She twirled her blade expertly in her hand, "Only if you are, Talon."

* * *

 **I am very proud of this chapter. And I can't apologise enough for it taking so long. Please leave a review and tell me what you think.**


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